Lionel Messi finally cherished his dream of winning an international trophy this year as he guided Argentina to their first major international trophy in 28 at the Copa America 2021.
The last time La Albiceleste had won a major trophy was the Copa America in 1993. But the trophy drought finally came to an end as Argentina pipped their rivals Brazil 1-0 in the final to bring home the trophy.
The Copa America 2021 was a Messi show through and through with the FC Barcelona star grabbing all the limelight with stellar performances throughout the campaign.
Messi was the joint topscorer in the competition with Colombia's Luis Diaz (4 goals) and had also provided five assists. Contributing nine out of the 13 goals Argentina scored at Copa, the 34-year-old attacker was rightly given the Golden Ball award.
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Other than being the standout performer for his team as well as in the entire tournament, the Barcelona skipper also set a few records. He surpassed Javier Mascherano and became the most capped Argentina player in international football of all time (151). He is also the only Argentina player to play in 150 international matches.
Messi scripted the record of providing the most number of assists in one edition (five) and also became the first Argentina player to appear in six different editions of the Copa America (2007-2021).
Here, we take a look at the key stats of Lionel Messi at Copa America 2021.
How has Messi performed at Copa America?
| Minutes played | Goals | Assists | Penalty goals | Free-kick goals | Conversion rate | Chances created | Passes attempted | Passes completed | Passing accuracy | Shots | Shots on target | Shots off target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 630 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 22.22 | 21 | 295 | 239 | 81.02 | 18 | 11 | 7 |
Argentina's campaign at Copa America 2021?
Argentina began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Chile where Messi scored from an impeccable free-kick. In their next three group matches, La Albiceleste managed to pick full points beating Uruguay and Paraguay 1-0 and Bolivia 4-1 to qualify for the quarterfinals as group leaders.
In the quarterfinal, Argentina thrashed Ecuador 3-0 where their skipper provided two assists and converted another brilliant free-kick goal. In the semifinal, Argentina got the better of Colombia in the tie-breaker and then pipped arch-rivals in the final, courtesy of an Angel Di Maria strike to win the title.
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