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Group B of the 2019 Copa America witnessed its first match, as Argentina and Colombia battled it out, with the latter taking home their first victory over their neighbors since 2007.
Given the strength and pedigree of both nations, this was one of the most anticipated matches of the group stage. It can ostensibly be implied that the two teams would occupy the top two positions in the group (with all due respect to Qatar and Paraguay).
Although the match got off to a rather slow start, the second half exploded into action, with tenacious displays and lots of goalmouth action. In this piece, we shall be highlighting three talking points from the highly entertaining fixture at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador.
#3 Same old Argentina, just a different year
This fixture represented Argentina's first competitive clash since their woeful elimination by France at the round-of-16 of the World Cup in July last year.
However, despite all their verve, heart and tenacity, the Argentines were sorely lacking in cutting edge which has been an all-too-familiar story in recent years. They huffed and puffed for the entirety of the 90 minutes in vain, with their efforts yielding nothing as Colombia ran out with all three points and a clean sheet to boot.
This match offered an opportunity for the Albiceleste players to stand up, be counted on the international stage, and make up for the bitter disappointments of recent years, but that failed to happen.
A frequent criticism leveled at the Argentine team is that they generally tend to underperform when it matters most and all of their shortcomings in recent years were on full display in the match against Colombia.
There was a sense of urgency in their players, but they were lacking a clear-cut direction to their play while they were also devoid of coordination and this showed in defensive lapses which ultimately cost them in the match.
The Argentine squad on display on the night was a new-look one, but in scenes surreally deja vu-like, they showed signs of the failings which had plagued their forebears in times past. On the evidence of their performance against Colombia, it seems as though Argentina's 28-year wait for international glory would go on.
#2 Duvan Zapata continues to impress
Heading into the 2018/2019 season, few if any would have pin-pointed Duvan Zapata as a player to watch out for in Serie A.
The 28-year-old had had an unspectacular career till that time, undergoing multiple loans since the start of the 2015/2016 season.
He arrived Atalanta on loan from Sampdoria in July 2018 and instantly settled to life at the club, scoring in eight matches consecutively between November and January (including a four-goal haul against Frosinone on January 20, 2019) becoming the first Atalanta player since Hasse Jepson in 1952 to achieve this feat in a single match.
In total, the Colombian international scored 28 goals from 48 matches in all competitions to help his side to a top-three league finish as well as make it to the final of the Coppa Italia.
Having failed to make it to his country's final 23-man squad to the World Cup last year, Zapata has been making up for lost time since the run of the year.
The former Napoli man scored his first international goal for his country in a 3-0 victory over Peru and six days later broke his duck in a competitive fixture when he netted the decisive second in the fixture against Argentina.
The joy at achieving this feat was evident for all to see, as he took off his shirt before peeling away in celebration and duly received a yellow card for his actions.
Duvan Zapata has made a strong case for starting ahead of Radamel Falcao in Colombia's next match against Qatar and if he is to keep up with his goalscoring trajectory, there could be no stopping him in the future.
#1 Colombia sends an early marker
Much of the pre-tournament discussions about the 2019 Copa America favorites centered heavily around Brazil, while Uruguay and Argentina also got mentions and rightly so, as they are by far the biggest footballing nations on the continent.
Only the aforementioned three countries have won the World Cup, while they occupy the top three spots in the number of Copa America trophies won.
Comparatively, Colombia is a relatively modest footballing nation, having triumphed in the Copa America just once on home soil in 2001 while their best ever finish at the World Cup remains their quarter-final appearance in 2014 at Brazil (which coincidentally is also the host of this year's Copa America).
However, in recent years Colombian football has seen an upturn in fortune, as their players now ply their trade at the biggest clubs in the world, with James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao being their biggest exports while Carlos Bacca, Yerry Mina, Juan Cuadrado and Duvan Zapata are also players of considerable ability.
While Colombia would be more than happy to maintain their outsider's rank for the title, the manner in which they took apart a Messi-led Argentina shows that this is a team which is more than capable of holding its own with anyone on the continent.
