Lionel Messi was visibly emotional after he was forced from the field with an injury as Argentina remain locked 0-0 with Colombia in the first half of extra time of the Copa America final.
The superstar went down with a non-contact injury in the 64th minute before taking off his right boot on his way off the field.
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Messi then burst into tears as he sat on the bench as he was replaced by Nico Gonzalez.
The Argentinian skipper also copped a whack to his left ankle in the first half via a challenge from Colombia’s Santiago Arias.
Argentinian physios raced out to the superstar, who lay on the ground in serious pain but was eventually able to see out the first half.
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The incident occurred when Messi tried to cross the ball but it had edged over the line for a goal kick.
Messi almost had Argentina well on their way to turning their triple crown dreams into reality
but his shot was inadvertently blocked by his own teammate.
Veteran winger Angel Di Maria did well to wriggle free on the left blank before he cut the ball back into the path of Messi, who was unmarked at the top of the box.
However, the superstar’s shot cannoned into Argentina striker Julian Alvarez as Colombia eventually cleared their lines.
Argentina had another big chance to push ahead early in extra time when the ball was centred to Nicolás González but Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas timed his dive to perfect, stopping what would have otherwise been a certain goal.
González also perhaps didn’t have quite the amount of power he would have liked on the strike, leaving the scores still level after 94 minutes.
Argentina is aiming to win the ‘triple crown of three straight major tournament titles having won the 2021 Copa America and then the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
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‘IT WAS CRAZY’: CROWD TROUBLE ROCKS FINAL
Dozens of fans forced their way into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium venue hosting Sunday’s Copa America final in chaotic scenes before kick-off, stadium security staff told AFP.
As a result, it forced kick-off to be delayed by over an hour.
Hundreds of fans queing for the showpiece between Argentina and Colombia were kept waiting behind entrance barriers, which remained shut more than one hour after they were scheduled to open at 5pm local time.
Security staff told AFP that the gates had been kept closed because fans had attempted to force their way into the stadium whenever the gates had been opened.
A police officer on site at the scene told AFP that several fans had managed to rush into the stadium. It was unclear if they had tickets for the match.
Fans interviewed by an AFP reporter described chaotic scenes at the entrance gates.
“It was crazy, people were just trying to get in like crazy,” said David Fernandez, a Colombia fan from Gainesville, Florida.
“They just didn’t want to wait. They were just rushing over and running over. They’ve opened the gates three different times — it was good for two or three minutes and then everybody was just rushing.”
Rosy Riales said fans had got increasingly frustrated at the failure to open the gates on time. “People are just riled up and excited, so they’re pushing and it’s like mayhem,” she told AFP. “They should have opened the gates sooner to let people in slowly.”
The Athletic’s Jack Lang said it was “like a miracle” fans behaved as well as they did when getting inside the venue to ensure nothing worse happened.
“That was the worst thing I have ever experienced, at a football match or otherwise,” Lang wrote on X.
“It was genuinely horrible. So many kids in tears. Adults at their wits’ end. Those fans deserve huge credit for not erupting at some point there. Again, something like a miracle.”
The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of stadium security at the Copa America following a brawl which marred the end of Wednesday’s semi-final between Colombia and Uruguay.
Uruguayan players climbed into the stands and clashed with Colombian fans, claiming family members had been threatened in the aftermath of Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat.