The 2021 Copa America reaches its conclusion on Saturday night as Brazil and Neymar host Argentina and Lionel Messi. Brazil squeaked through the knockout stage with back-to-back 1-0 wins over Chile and Peru, while Argentina followed up their 3-0 win over Ecuador in the quarters by just getting by Colombia in penalty kicks in the semis. It’s the two best teams on the continent with big-time pressure on both superstars. Messi is going for his first Copa America title, and Neymar as is well. If you will recall, Neymar was injured for the tournament when Brazil won the last edition back in 2019.
Here are the starting lineups:
Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Acuña; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Gio Lo Celso; Angel Di María, Lautaro Martínez, Lionel Messi.
Brazi: Ederson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Renan Lodi; Casemiro; Fred; Everton, Lucas Paquetá, Neymar; Richarlison.
To see how our experts pick this game, click here.
Here’s how you can watch the match and what to know:
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, July 10 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Maracana — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TV: FS1 and TUDN | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Odds: Brazil +114; Draw +210; Argentina +275 (via William Hill Sportsbook)
Live updates: Copa America final
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Storylines
Brazil: Far and away the best team in South America, they sure haven’t played like it in the knockout stage. They’ve been wasteful. This is a team that expects to score multiple goals a game but just haven’t been able to. Another night off, and it could be a disaster. If they can clean things up in attack and finish the chances they’ll surely get, they’ll repeat as champs. Keep an eye on the set pieces though, because if they are overly aggressive, we could see Messi potentially score from his third set piece of the tournament. Expect them to be physical, to slow down the page when Argentina have the ball and to be well situated to win.
Argentina: The big question really isn’t whether Messi can go off and guide Argentina to the title, it’s about this defense. They’ve given up some really good chances to Ecuador and Colombia and were lucky at times. With Cristian Romero, this defense is so much stronger, but the Atalanta man may not win his race for fitness after missing all of the knockout stage so far. That would mean we probably see German Pezzella and Nicolas Otamendi. They can do the job, though they will have to be at their best, turning back the clocks a bit and avoid even the slightest mistake. It’s a tall task, but this team is as confident as it has been in years. Don’t be shocked to see Lisandro Martinez slide in at defensive midfielder and drop deep to almost serve as a third centerback.
Prediction
A second-half strike from a corner kick by Marquinhos sends the host nation to the title. Pick: Brazil 2, Argentina 1
