The LONGEST 10 Minutes of Lionel Messi's Life !

10 minutes remain. Nicolás González flicks it on, flicks it on to nobody. Brazil come forward again. Neymar, not for the first time, is absolutely crunched. And Nicolás Otamendi finally in the book. And for those Brazilians, probably going to be arguing that it's 80 minutes late. Otamendi again involved as he goes to ground. That sparks plenty of pushing and shoving. For anyone who's watched a derby in South America, whether it's in international football or in the Libertadores, or in any South American league, you'd expect no less as we go into the final 10 minutes. No question about that yellow card. Otamendi riding his luck for much of the game and eventually taking one for the team. Marquinhos has also been booked in that melee. Free kick swung in, drops in the box. Montiel quickly fixes his feet to get this one away. Messi, the furthest forward for Argentina. But Edison, under no pressure, hits the ball forward. Richarlison wins it. Drops down here for Gabriel Barroso. And then Montiel snaps into the challenger's space now, though, in behind for Montiel. Or in the space left by Montiel. Vinicius finds the ball in behind, and the shot comes in. Gabriel Barbosa just for a moment saw the space open up. And a last-ditch challenge denies him. Corner kick to Brazil. 80-second minute. Neymar delivers, headed away to the edge of the box. Danilo shoots over the crossbar. And those in yellow in the stands still believe this is the moment so far. Rodrigo de Paul, unquestionably the man of the match so far, delivering the decisive pass in behind Di Maria. Gorgeous first touch and an even better finish. And the much maligned Di Maria may yet be the man that brings a trophy home to Argentina. Brazil desperately looking to get the ball forward. Neymar dropping deep to try and instigate. Here's Emerson. Vinicius and Vinicius under pressure for Montiel. Can't keep it in play. Montiel taking his time over this throw. Flicked on by Nicole Gonzalez. Messi can't get there above Emerson or Thiago Silva. Stays down with no free kick being given. He's going to have to get back to his feet quickly. Nicole Gonzalez leads the chase and now has to get back quickly into defensive shape. Brazil have a little over five minutes of normal time in this unfamiliar alien position of being behind. They haven't lost on home soil since the third, fourth place playoff against the Netherlands. Cross comes in and it's a terrific recovery challenge by Nicolas Otamendi. Covers the ground and denies Danilo the opportunity to cross. It's another corner for Brazil. Otamendi, like Di Maria, answering a number of his critics this evening. Five minutes still remain, though. Corner comes in. Flicked on the second header. Thiago Silva didn't know much about it. Loops over the crossbar. Another opportunity. Argentina survive. That was what Marquinhos was shown a yellow card for and what knocked Otamendi off his feet in those scenes earlier. And the small band of Argentina supporters can be heard in the background. Argentina, Argentina. What a moment for that small couple of thousand that managed to get tickets this evening. They came in huge numbers in 2014 with the dream of winning a World Cup on Brazilian soil ended by Germany in the final. Truly an extra time. Could Argentina make amends for that this evening? Vinicius wins a free kick from Montiel. And Montiel's former River team mate, Ezequiel Palacios, comes across. A bit of moral support. No questions, but it's another free kick to defend for Argentina. It's getting very late in the day here in the Maracana. Another Neymar set-piece whipped in at the near post, flicked away to the back post. Gabriel Mamoso and Emi Martinez is equal to it again. One of the heroes of this Copa America, the Aston Villa keeper. And Emi Martinez palms it over his crossbar. Another corner headed away at the near post by Nicolás González. All hands on deck here for Argentina. Rodrigo de Paul looking to break away, just can't get the ball away from Casemiro. And Brazil back in possession. Rodrigo de Paul can't afford to stay down for long. Argentina need him. Richarlison, Otamendi tackles, drops to Casemiro who crosses from the right. Headed away by Guido Rodriguez. Gabigol, cut out by Guido Rodriguez. Guido Rodriguez finds Messi. And there's space for Messi. A tired Messi comes over halfway. Still coming forward. Clips the ball onto this near side for Rodrigo de Paul. De Paul looks to turn it through. Messi, Messi, Messi. Oh, he just couldn't get the ball out from under his feet. Edison claims. And just for a moment there, it seems to be written in the stars for Lionel Messi to wrap up this win for Argentina. But with less than two minutes remain, it remains one nil. And Brazil come forward looking for an equalizer. Advantage played. Neymar coming the other way and a tackle comes in. Guido Rodriguez. There will be a yellow card for Montiel. And Montiel stays down here. Desperate to run down the clock. What a minute of play we just had there. Argentina, for a moment, thought they were gonna wrap it up with Lionel Messi. And now it's Brazil with a free kick at the other end. A breathless end to this game. You'd expect no less from a Copa America final. You'd expect no less from Brazil against Argentina. Lionel Messi just looked absolutely exhausted when he received that ball. And even the great man couldn't find the touch. Could it be decisive? Acuna clears it away for Argentina. We're into the final minute of the 90. Casemiro lobs it forward. It's too much on it. And Emi Martinez can watch this one behind. Well, we always thought there'd be drama. But as we approach stoppage time, this will be too much to bear for those in blue and white. Gonzalo Montiel's blood-stained stock there. Absolutely drenched. We saw in the semifinal Lionel Messi picked up a knock on his ankle as the blood soaked through. But someone should probably check on Montiel who seems to be bleeding profusely from his ankle, judging by his sock. We're into stoppage time here in the Maracanã. Nicolás González helps it on. Palacios picks up the loose ball. Here's De Paul. De Paul looks down the line for González. It's put out of play by Emerson. We've got five minutes of added time here in the Maracanã. An agonizing five minutes for Argentina. It's a run of seven defeats in finals since they lifted this trophy in 1993. Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time, never won a senior trophy with Argentina. Could this be the night? Brazil pump it forward. Pesella's there, headed up into the night sky. And there's a handball given against Roberto Firmino. And Argentina will be in no rush to take this one. Well, this was the moment you thought. Lionel Messi switched it to Rodrigo De Paul. Managed to find the ball back and then just lost his footing. When the ball fell to him, of all people, you expected the net to bulge. Instead, Brazil survived and have a couple of minutes to force this one to extra time. Took a long time for the Maracanã to shake off the tag. De Paul could be in here. De Paul, De Paul! It's a great save from Ederson. De Paul almost sealing it for Argentina as Brazil come back the other way. Pesella, everyone just trying to bring down Neymar. And eventually Argentina get numbers back and win the ball. Neymar shrugs, asking for the free kick that never came. De Paul comes back the other way, just desperate to run down the clock. He's been absolutely imperious. Messi takes up the job and tries to clip it down the line. And then just ensures that he can waste a couple of seconds by knocking the ball further down the line. Well, it's all smiles in the Argentina end as they bounce with joy. That could change very quickly in the next two minutes. Guido Rodriguez heads it down. Danilo comes forward. Richarlison, Richarlison lays it back to Roberto Firmino. Almost everyone forward in the yellow shirt. Roberto Firmino tries to thread it through. It's going to break for Danilo. Danilo looks for the cross. Nothing given. And Palacios picks it up for Argentina. Just needs an out ball here. Acuna clips it down the line. Messi can't get it. And Brazil almost keep it in play. It's going to go out for a throw to Argentina. And Lionel Messi and Argentina can breathe. They've got just over a minute to try and hold this one out. The significance of this cannot be understated. Can Lionel Messi's wait be over? An agonizing wait that's been like torture. The missed penalty in the 2016 Copa America final against Chile. His retirement that followed looked to be a premature end, a sad end to the greatest player's international career. Could this be the glorious comeback? The defeat to Uruguay in the Maracanãra in 1950 after it opened seemed to hang over this stadium from so long. But the run is over now. Argentina are champions of South America. Argentina crowd around Lionel Messi. The world's greatest player finally has an international trophy. There can be no more arguments. Lionel Messi and Argentina return to the summit of South American football for the first time since 1993. Since the days of Batistuta and Simeone, Argentina have new heroes. Messi, De Paul, look at the scenes. Have a World Cup or numerous World Cups for Lionel Messi. It was the one thing that eluded him. Records throughout his career just keep on tumbling. But the opportunity to lift a trophy wearing the shirt that he holds so dearly was something that would have stayed with him for the rest of his life if he hadn't been able to. And tonight, Lionel Messi is gonna pick up that famous trophy. The person with the responsibility for the 15th time for Argentina. They draw level with Uruguay, the record number of champions. And that's what it means to this group. When you consider where Argentina were when they were eliminated by France in 2018 in Russia in the World Cup, under Jorge Sampaoli, no one would have possibly imagined we'd be here a few years later with Argentina as Copa America champions. No one. Lionel Scaloni has had his critics. Many would have looked at him as the cheap option for the Argentine Football Association. But he revitalized this squad. Messi, of course, still as the linchpin, as the glue that brings this group together.