Argentina are Copa America champions once again.
They were the pre-tournament favourites according to Opta's supercomputer, and they lived up to the billing in the United States, retaining their title and winning the Copa America for a record 16th time.
Lionel Scaloni's team beat Colombia 1-0 in Sunday's final, despite Lionel Messi going off injured and in tears, with Lautaro Martinez sealing victory in extra time.
Martinez was one of the standout positives from the Copa America, but who were the others, and which teams and players failed to impress?
THE TOPS
Argentina
Let's start with the champions. They won the Copa America while only conceding one goal in their six matches, with Scaloni's success built on a mean defence, rather than just the magic of Messi.
Indeed, Messi's magic was in somewhat short supply. He was a creative fulcrum in Argentina's opening win over Canada, and then scored his only goal of the tournament against Jesse Marsch's team in a semi-final reunion, but injuries plagued his campaign.
He was in tears as he made his way to the bench in Sunday's final, but nevertheless bowed out of what will surely be his final Copa America as a back-to-back champion.
Argentina were not always pretty, but with the now-retired Angel Di Maria and Golden Boot winner Martinez picking up the slack, along with Emiliano Martinez in fine form between the sticks, they got the job done.
Lautaro Martinez
Argentina's hero was not Messi in the end, but instead it was Martinez, who completed something of a redemption arc after he endured a poor World Cup on a personal level in Qatar, where he failed to convert any of his 14 attempts at goal.
Indeed, Martinez headed into the Copa America without having scored for Argentina in World Cup 2026 qualifying, and he was not going to be a regular starter.
Well, he wasn't a regular starter, playing only 221 minutes, but he scored five times to clinch the Golden Boot, matching the best tally by Argentine players at the Copa America since the turn of the century (Messi in 2016, Juan Roman Riquelme in 2007).
Martinez scored every 44 minutes on average, having 11 shots and outperforming his 3.26 xG.
James Rodriguez
Messi might have been unable to take a starring role, but James Rodriguez ensured there was one number 10 who took centre-stage at this edition of the tournament.
James was not picked for Colombia's squad in 2021, yet he has been made his team's main man again by Nestor Lorenzo, who was rewarded by some quite sensational displays.
The 33-year-old provided six assists, breaking the record Messi set in 2021 (five), while creating a tournament-leading 20 chances, six more than any other player.
James wanted the ultimate prize, but ultimately had to settle with being named the Copa America Player of the Tournament.
Marcelo Bielsa
El Loco is back in business, and even though Uruguay didn't reach the final, falling short in the semis, they are a team moulded in their coach's profile.
Bielsa has his side playing front-foot, fast-paced football, but they are also stern defenders, as they proved in a goalless draw with Brazil, which they then won on penalties despite having gone down to 10 men.
The future is bright with Bielsa at the helm.
Jesse Marsch and Canada
Not much was expected of tournament debutants Canada, but two years in advance of co-hosting the World Cup, the Reds went on a great run to the semi-finals.
Sure, they only won one match in normal time, but a penalty shoot-out victory over Venezuela in the quarters teed up a rematch against Argentina and the champions just had too much quality (again).
Jesse Marsch's stock was low after he was sacked by Leeds United, but after a spell out of the game, this job looks to be the perfect fit for the confident American.
And with Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David spearheading Canada's hopes in 2026, perhaps something special is on the cards.
THE FLOPS
Brazil
Dorival Junior, who took over as Brazil head coach in January, has asked for time and patience to complete a rebuild, having left several big names out due to a lack of form or fitness. Neymar, of course, was also absent, having missed pretty much all of last season due to injury.
But the Selecao really did flop at this Copa America.
Their only win came against Paraguay (4-1) in the group stage, and their failure to top Group D meant they went up against Uruguay in the last eight.
Vinicius Junior scored a double against Paraguay but then got himself suspended for the clash with La Celeste. If he had been available, maybe matters might have been different, but as it was, the nine-time Copa America champions crashed out.
United States
The USA were meant to go far at what was a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup. Instead, they slumped out in the group stage and Gregg Berhalter was fired.
It is the first time the Stars and Stripes have failed to advance after winning their opening group-stage match of a tournament, having previously advanced all 23 times they had won their opener.
After beating Bolivia, USA lost to Panama and Uruguay in a damp squib of a campaign.
US Soccer must now try and move on from the Berhalter era. They have a talented squad at their disposal, but a golden generation could be wasted if they do not get their next appointment right.
Jurgen Klopp has reportedly been approached, and reportedly turned that offer down, too.
The organisers
From poor pitches to poor organisation, CONMEBOL did not come out of this tournament well.
Bielsa and Marsch both lambasted the governing body during their final press conferences, while Messi and Scaloni were critical of the quality of the playing surfaces.
And then, before the final, crowd trouble outside Miami's Hard Rock stadium forced the postponement of the showpiece. Oh, and there was also that matter of fighting in the stands between Uruguay players and Colombia fans.
There's work to do on that front.
Mexico
Only twice in 10 previous participations at the Copa America had Mexico gone out in the group stage, failing to win a game in back-to-back editions in 2011 and 2015.
El Tri did manage a victory this time around, beating Jamaica 1-0 in their Group B opener, but that was as good as it got as a 1-0 loss to Venezuela and a goalless draw with Ecuador saw them edged out on goal difference, finishing third in their pool.
Mexico scored just once from chances totalling 4.86 xG, their forwards letting them down as they recorded the second-worst underperformance at the tournament (behind Canada, - 4.36).
Darwin Nunez
Nunez was wasteful for Liverpool throughout the 2023-24 season, and things did not change for him at the Copa America despite Uruguay entertaining en route to the semi-finals.
His two goals, both of which came in the group stage, came from a total of 21 shots worth 2.68 xG, and only five of those efforts saw him hit the target.
His figure of 1.93 expected goals on target (xGoT), meanwhile, demonstrated the way in which his sub-par finishing made opportunities less likely to result in a goal.
Nunez's tournament then ended with the forward being involved in violent clashes with Colombia fans after La Celeste's semi-final defeat.
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt
Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.
The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.
Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.
"We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."
Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.
Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.
"When Messi got the ball, you’d think: 'Oh, danger'," he added. "When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen."
Bompastor pleased with Chelsea's rotated side in 3-0 Champions League win over Celtic
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor was delighted with her side's 3-0 home victory over Celtic in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, which extended her 100% start and secured their place in the quarter-final.
Bompastor's side remain three points above Real Madrid at the top of Group B and can now no longer be caught by third-placed Twente.
"I told the players before the game tonight that it was an opportunity for us to qualify for the quarter-final, and we did that," she told the official club website after the game.
The result comes after a 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the WSL last weekend, which also has them top of that table with seven wins from seven.
"We also remain top of the table, which is also something we want to make sure we achieve. It's great news that we were able to rotate the squad and give opportunities to some players to play a Champions League game again.
"We could rest some players thinking about the Manchester United game [on Sunday]."
One of those players who got on the pitch as a result of that rotation was 17-year-old Lola Brown, who made her professional debut after coming off the bench in the 85th minute.
"It's a special week for her individually, but also for the club," Bompastor said. "I'm really pleased for her and the opportunity for her to come in, especially in a Champions League game.
"She's been training with us and I can see her talent, even if she is young. She's really dynamic as a player, really smart, and really good with the ball. She will progress and this experience tonight will bring her a lot of joy and a lot of confidence.
'As a manager, I worked a lot with the young players, especially when I was at the academy with Lyon, and it's also something special for me when I can give an opportunity to a young player to come in and show themselves. It's really good and shows the good job that the club is doing with young players.'
Aside from Brown, Bompastor made six changes to Chelsea's starting XI for the game and was pleased with the contribution of the players who came in.
"It's been my mindset from the beginning of the season. We play so many games and have to make sure everyone is involved. It's also the opportunity for me to show my trust in the players and the squad.
"It's important because it's not possible for a player to play 90 minutes every three days, especially with a lot of international players who play for their national team and club and travel all around the world. I think that's the way it has to be.'
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