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• Chile 0-1 Argentina: Super sub Martinez sends La Albiceleste through to Copa America quarter-finals

  Lautaro Martinez struck a dramatic late winner as Argentina beat Chile 1-0 to secure their place in the Copa America knockout stages with a game to spare.

  The reigning champions looked like they would have to settle for a point on a frustrating night at the MetLife Stadium, having failed to turn their superiority into the game's opening goal.

  But substitute Martinez, who also netted from the bench in his nation's opener against Canada, finally broke Chile's resolve when he lashed home two minutes from time.

  It moved Lionel Scaloni's side onto six points at the Group A summit - three points ahead of Canada, who beat Peru 1-0 earlier in the day - meaning a draw against Peru in their final game will be enough to secure top spot.

  Argentina dominated the first half with 13 unanswered shots, yet just three of those were on target. One of them saw Julian Alvarez fire straight at Claudio Bravo from close range in the 22nd minute.

  Lionel Messi also went close to scoring in the 36th minute. La Albiceleste's skipper let fly with a fizzing 25-yard attempt that clipped the outside of Bravo's left post, while Erick Pulgar almost turned Nahuel Molina's cross beyond the Chile goalkeeper two minutes later.

  La Roja had Bravo to thank for keeping Argentina at bay, as the reigning champions continued to carry the greater attacking threat after the break.

  The veteran stopper beat away Molina's fierce strike within five minutes of the restart, and just after the hour mark, he produced a superb reflex save to tip Nicolas Gonzalez's drive onto the crossbar.

  With the breakthrough still eluding the world champions, Scaloni bolstered his attack by introducing Angel Di Maria and Martinez for the final 17 minutes.

  Chile had increased their own attacking threat by registering their first attempts on goal in the contest, with Rodrigo Echeverria calling Emiliano Martinez into action on both occasions.

  Yet, there was to be a late twist in Argentina's favour when an 88th-minute corner broke kindly for Martinez, who reacted the quickest to fire into the roof of the net and send La Albiceleste through to the quarter-finals.

  Persistence pays dividends for Argentina

  The recent history books would suggest Argentina should fancy their chances against Chile.

  This is epitomised by the fact they are now unbeaten after 90 minutes in the last 13 meetings, winning eight of those, but that does not tell the full story.

  Seven of those eight victories have only been by a single-goal margin and, of course, they lost on penalties in the Copa America final showdowns of 2015 and 2016.

  Though they dominated most of this contest and registered 22 shots to their opponents' three, just the one goal was enough once more - with both of Martinez's strikes from the bench in this competition coming in the 88th minute.

  Argentina progress to the Copa America knockout stages for a 14th consecutive time, excluding when they withdrew from the 2001 tournament.

  Toothless La Roja resistance finally broken

  Chile looked set to frustrate Argentina once again at the Copa America, and hold out for a second successive clean sheet.

  Their defensive resolve - along with an inspired performance by Bravo between the sticks - looked like it would remain firm and keep the reigning champions at bay, until Martinez's late intervention.

  What will be more concerning for La Roja is the fact they have now gone four successive Copa America matches without scoring, while having to wait until the 72nd minute for their first attempt on goal today.

  That is something they need to address quickly ahead of their crucial final Group A clash with Canada, in which a victory could still see them snatch second place and a quarter-final spot.

• Knicks acquire Mikal Bridges in blockbuster deal with Nets

  The New York Knicks have agreed to a trade that would have coveted forward Mikal Bridges playing in Madison Square Garden next season, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

  The Knicks reportedly acquired Bridges for a king’s ransom, with Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round draft picks and a protected first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks headed to the Brooklyn Nets in return.

  News of the trade broke a day before the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, as the Knicks continued to add talent around All-NBA Second Team guard Jalen Brunson.

  Bridges, 27, has two seasons left on the four-year, $90.9million rookie extension he signed when he was with the Phoenix Suns, and the Nets reportedly feared that he may leave for nothing if he reached free agency.

  A six-year veteran, Bridges averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 82 games last season in Brooklyn.

  Bridges will reunite with former college teammates in Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart as the Knicks continue to build a Villanova alumni club in their locker room.

  A versatile two-way threat, Bridges is expected to bring secondary scoring and ball-handling on offence and could see plenty of open 3-point looks with defenses focusing on Brunson and Julius Randle.

  Bridges is also the NBA’s active Iron Man with 474 consecutive games played, a welcome addition for a Knicks team that was devastated by injuries down the stretch last season.

  The trade is not without risk for the Knicks, however.

  In addition to the vast amount of draft capital sent to the Nets, Bridges’ addition casts doubt on New York’s ability to retain both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein, who will be free agents on June 30.

  Bridges is able to easily swing between guard and forward positions, but a frontcourt that included Randle, Anunoby, Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson could be too crowded.

  The Knicks gave up talented pieces in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to acquire Anunoby at last season’s deadline, but his skill-set could be somewhat redundant with Bridges on the roster.

  If Knicks president Leon Rose is able to keep even one of Anunoby or Hartenstein, however, New York will add talent and depth to a team that won 50 games last season and broke down in the playoffs only after several key injuries.

  The Nets will almost certainly take a step back after losing last season’s leading scorer, but the trade helps replenish the franchise’s arsenal of future assets that was diminished by acquiring James Harden in 2021.

  With early reports touting the 2025 draft class as deep in high-level talent, Brooklyn turned its focus away from the 2024-25 season and toward the future.

• Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica: Wasteful Selecao frustrated in Copa America opener

  Brazil began their Copa America campaign with a frustrating goalless draw against Costa Rica at the SoFi Stadium.

  The Selecao dominated large periods of the Group D clash. Marquinhos saw a goal ruled out following a VAR review, while Lucas Paqueta rattled the woodwork from distance.

  Yet despite enjoying just under three-quarters of the possession and registering 19 shots to their opponents' two, they could not find the breakthrough and failed to win their opening match in the competition for the first time since 2016.

  Dorival Junior's side subsequently lost early ground on Group D leaders Colombia, who beat Paraguay 2-1 earlier in the day.

  Brazil quickly asserted their authority on proceedings in California as they sought the game's opening goal.

  Rodrygo steered a shot wide following a jinking run into the penalty area, while Raphinha was denied by Patrick Sequeira after latching onto a diagonal ball over the top of the Costa Rica defence.

  The Selecao thought they had broken the deadlock on the half-hour mark when Marquinhos applied the finishing touch after Rodrygo glanced Raphinha's free-kick towards the far post, only for the strike to be ruled out for offside following a VAR review. 

  Rodrygo fired narrowly over in first-half stoppage time and, then on 63 minutes, Lucas Paqueta saw his ferocious 25-yard drive crash against Sequeira's left upright.

  Dorival withdrew the quiet Vinicius Junior in favour of Endrick and Savinho for the final 20 minutes, and both looked dangerous upon their introductions.

  The latter's cross almost saw Costa Rica defender Haxzel Quiros head into his own net with his blushes spared by Sequeira, who then beat away Guilherme Arana's fierce volley.

  Savinho was involved again in stoppage time as he teed up one final opportunity for Bruno Guimaraes, who bent his first-time shot narrowly wide to compound a frustrating start to the tournament for the nine-time winners.

  Selecao stutter on return to States

  It is fair to say Brazil do not boost particularly fond recent memories of playing in the United States in recent years.

  After all, the Selecao crashed out in the group stages when the Copa America was last held in this nation eight years ago.

  Neymar, who was part of that side, watched on from the stands having been ruled out of this tournament through injury.

  Try as they may, his team-mates just could not break down their opponents and turn their dominance into the elusive goal, with just three of their 19 attempts on target.

  Fresh from playing a starring role in Real Madrid’s LaLiga and Champions League double, Vinicius Junior was unable to inspire his nation – his tallies of 45 touches and 23 passes were the lowest recorded by any of Brazil’s outfield starters.

  On a brighter note, Marquinhos made his 16th Copa America appearance – with only Dani Alves (19) and Thiago Silva (18) playing more times for the Selecao in the competition since 2000 – though a VAR review prevented him from marking the occasion with a goal.

  Another clean sheet for repellent Costa Rica

  Costa Rica were heavy underdogs on their return to the Copa America for the first time in eight years.

  Not since 2004 have Los Ticos progressed from the group stages of this competition, but they certainly know what it takes to claim a scalp on the big stage.

  Exactly 10 years ago, they beat Uruguay and Italy to top Group D, which also featured England, on the way to reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.

  Fast forward a decade and Joel Campbell, who was part of that side, came off the bench for his 140th cap as his nation halted a run of nine successive defeats by Brazil. 

  More impressively, Costa Rica have kept clean sheets in each of their last four competitive games.

  Their failure to record a single shot on target for the first time in a Copa America match since 2011 will be a slight concern, but that defensive stubbornness will stand them in good stead as they look to progress in this tournament.