This was not the potential Copa America farewell that Lionel Messi had dreamed of.
With a little over an hour played in Miami, where he is tearing through MLS sides on a weekly basis, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner was in tears as he trudged off with an apparent ankle injury.
The next Copa America is not until 2028; Messi will be beyond 40 - surely, this was his last appearance in the competition in which he has now played more games than any other player?
For Messi's individual pain, though, there was national glory. Unlike Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2024, with Portugal crashing out in the quarters, Argentina have gone the distance and, for a third successive major tournament, come out as the top dogs. They beat Colombia 1-0 on Sunday and claimed a record-setting 16th Copa America title.
But if the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup were all about their magical number 10, this time around, Lautaro Martinez provided the spark.
Martinez has not been a regular starter under Lionel Scaloni. He endured a difficult World Cup in Qatar on a personal level, failing to score from 14 shots and an accumulated xG of 1.81.
Yet in the United States, on the back of a fantastic season with Inter, Martinez has shown there is life after Messi for Argentina.
Despite having already scored four goals at the tournament to lead the Golden Boot race ahead of kick-off against Colombia, which was delayed by over an hour due to crowd trouble outside the Hard Rock Stadium, Martinez was not called upon until seven minutes into extra time.
It had, to that point, been an attritional encounter. Sure, plenty of shots (14 for Colombia, seven for Argentina) but Nicolas Gonzalez's disallowed goal and a strike off the post from Jhon Cordoba were the closest either team came. The second half alone, meanwhile, featured 13 fouls as the darker side of South American football reared its head.
This was not a game for flair. James Rodriguez, the Player of the Tournament, still got on the ball for Colombia when he could - he created three chances and played a match-leading 20 passes into the final third. Angel Di Maria, in his final match before international retirement, provided some spark for Argentina with three key passes of his own.
But it was Martinez who would make himself the (unlikely) hero. Five minutes after his introduction, he was put through by fellow substitute Giovani Lo Celso and, with his only shot of the night, coolly put Argentina ahead.
Jubilation for Argentina, who continued the pattern that began in 1983, which consists of alternating two-time champions and new winners at the Copa America.
Deflation, though, for Colombia, whose long unbeaten streak came to an end after 27 games, and their 23-year wait for a second Copa America title will roll on to become 27 years, at least. Will they get a better chance, especially after seeing Messi go off?
Argentina had less possession than their opponents for the first time since the semi-finals against Croatia in the last World Cup, with Colombia seeing 55.7% of the ball.
But even if Messi, who scored only once across the tournament, was not at his fluid best, or even available at all, Argentina proved they can win without him. After he dragged them to glory in Qatar, Messi had to watch on - with his ankle swelling - from the sidelines as Martinez got Argentina over the line.
This victory is one that has been built on a spectacularly solid defence, too. Argentina conceded only once in six games, in the quarter-final against Ecuador, which they won on penalties. Among the teams that played at least five matches in any edition of the Copa America, only four conceded fewer than two goals: Argentina in 2024 (one), Colombia in 2001 (0), Brazil in 1989 (one) and 2019 (one).
And what of Messi, then?
At 37 years and 20 days old, he became the oldest player to start a Copa America final in the 21st century. He is also the first player to play in five finals (2007, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2024), surpassing Javier Mascherano (2004, 2007, 2015 and 2016).
He had not been substituted in a Copa America match since July 2007, also in a meeting with Colombia, but needs must.
If this was, as expected, his farewell appearance in the competition, he goes out a two-time champion and with 14 goals to his name, three short of the tournament's record scorers.
Martinez, meanwhile, has completed his redemption arc. His tally of five goals not only wins him the Golden Boot, but also matches the best effort by an Argentine at the Copa America since the turn of the century (along with Messi in 2016 and Juan Roman Riquelme in 2007).
His goals came from just 221 minutes of action, and he started just two of Argentina's six matches.
Colombia will lick their wounds, but so too must CONMEBOL and CONCACAF.
Passions run high in South American football, and the Americas in general, but the United States will be hosting a World Cup in two years' time. The chaos outside the stadium gates, which resulted in hundreds if not thousands of fans entering without tickets, and the match being delayed, does not reflect well at all.
Like Martinez in an international shirt, those governing bodies must up their games.
Returning fan favourite Alonso calls Liverpool 'one of Europe's best'
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his former club Liverpool as "one of Europe's best" as he prepares for his Anfield return.
Alonso, who spent five successful years at Anfield and helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, returns to his former stomping ground when Leverkusen take on the Reds on Tuesday.
Arne Slot has won 12 of his first 14 matches in charge of Liverpool, including all three in the Champions League so far.
Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), and have lost their last two visits to Anfield, and Alonso is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits the reigning Bundesliga champions.
"For us, it is a big challenge," he said.
"Liverpool at the moment are one of the best, if not the best, in Europe, they are showing that in the Premier League and Champions League, a good squad, great coach. We're looking forward to it. Let's see what happens.
"You can play 70 minutes great but in 20 minutes it [the game] is gone, so it is mentally and emotionally we need to be ready.
"In all areas, they are really strong, so the process works really well. [Slot] has done a fantastic job in three months."
Alonso played 210 times across all competitions for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists.
After winning the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, he helped them reach the final in 2007, though they lost to Milan on that occasion.
However, the Spaniard does not think he will have too much time for a trip down memory lane.
"Unfortunately, there is no time for tourism – maybe a little run or walk," he said.
"I know the city very well, I love it, but tomorrow I will focus on the game and only the game.
"It feels great to be back here after a few years. It's always special. You notice the development of the club; the new stand looks amazing.
"It is a big game against Liverpool, it cannot get much better than that."
The omens are not great for Leverkusen, though.
Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), albeit that one defeat came against Leverkusen in 2002.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
Fulham 2-1 Brentford: Wilson's late brace seals comeback win
Harry Wilson scored twice in stoppage time as Fulham came back to beat Brentford 2-1 in an enthralling West London derby.
Wilson was the hero from Fulham's bench on Monday, as Marco Silva's team – who were on the wrong end of a late comeback against Everton last time out in the Premier League – salvaged a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Fulham will feel it was a win they earned from a match they dominated from the off, with the Bees having taken the lead against the run of play through Vitaly Janelt's stunning 24th-minute strike.
But the Fulham pressure finally told when Wilson rose high to flick in his first in the 92nd minute, and – after Bernd Leno made a superb stop to thwart Brentford at the other end – the former Liverpool midfielder nodded in again to send Craven Cottage into raptures.
Fulham's win takes them up into ninth, while Brentford drop to 12th after suffering a fifth league loss of the season.
Data Debrief: Super-sub Wilson to the rescue
Fulham will feel they deserved to come away from that match with three points, having had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, in an incredibly dominant display.
They also had 46 touches in the opposition box compared to Brentford's nine, but they could not make those count, at least until Wilson's late intervention as he finally broke through Brentford's stubborn defence.
The Welshman scored with both of his shots on target, having three attempts overall, with his goals coming from a combined 0.19 expected goals.
The Bees looked sure to get a first away win, and first clean sheet, of the Premier League season until their late lapse in concentration, and they have now dropped 14 points from winning positions in the competition this season, more than any other team.
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