2024 Copa América final

The 2024 Copa América final was an international soccer match to determine the winners of the CONMEBOL 2024 Copa América. The match was played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 14, 2024. Kickoff was delayed by over an hour and twenty minutes, due to overcrowding and other incidents which occurred near the stadium.

Defending champion Argentina defeated Colombia 1–0 after extra time to claim its record-breaking 16th Copa América title. The match was Argentina's 30th final appearance, further extending its record, and was Colombia's third Copa América final. Before the match, Argentina had won a joint-record 15 titles out of 29 finals, and Colombia's most recent final win was in 2001. It was also Argentina's third consecutive major tournament triumph, following wins in the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a streak previously only achieved by Spain (2008, 2010, and 2012) and Argentina itself (1945, 1946, and 1947).

Venue
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, near the city of Miami, hosted the final. It was confirmed as the host on November 20, 2023. The United States had been announced as host in January 2023; the country had previously hosted the Copa América Centenario in 2016 with the final played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City, which would also host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

Hard Rock Stadium is primarily the home of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League and has a grass surface and 65,000 seats. It opened in 1987 and underwent major renovations from 2015 to 2017 that added a roof and other features. The stadium is also a 2026 FIFA World Cup host venue.

National anthems
Before the final, Colombian singer Karol G and Argentine singer Abel Pintos sang the national anthems of their respective countries.

Half-time show
Shakira was announced as the halftime performer for the final on July 8, 2024. She performed four songs with backup dancers and robots. The extension of halftime from the traditional 15 minutes to 26 minutes was criticized by Colombia coach Néstor Lorenzo prior to the match.

Pre-match overcrowding
The stadium was expected to be sold-out with a crowd of over 65,000 attendees. At around 5:40 pm EDT, hours before the scheduled kickoff of 8:00 pm EDT, dozens of Colombia and Argentina fans jumped over security railings and ran past police officers into the stadium; a few tried to enter through the ventilation system. Several of the incidents occurred at the southwest gate dedicated to journalists, VIPs, and players' families. In response, police officers locked the entrance gates. At around 8:10 pm EDT, stadium security re-opened the gates to avoid a crowd crush and to slowly allow ticket-holders into the stadium. Thousands of fans were prevented from entering the stadium due to the incidents.

Hard Rock Stadium issued a statement that "In anticipation of tonight's Copa América final, thousands of fans without tickets attempted to forcibly enter the stadium, putting other fans, security and law enforcement officers at extreme risk." The start of the final match was delayed by 82 minutes until 9:22 pm EDT. An estimated 7,000 people gained entry without tickets. Stadium security continued to check tickets of those inside the stadium and clear crowded aisles while the match was underway.

550 officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department were assigned to the match. Multiple arrests were made for trespassing and battery on a police officer. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department set up an emergency station inside the stadium for fans suffering from heat exhaustion in the 88 F heat.

Summary
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made four saves from an aggressive Colombia side in the first half. Argentina captain Lionel Messi was forced off with a non-contact injury while running in the 64th minute. Argentina winger Nicolás González had a goal disallowed in the 75th minute for offside.

The match went into extra time after being tied 0–0 at 90 minutes. Lautaro Martínez was substituted on for Argentina in the 97th minute and scored in the 112th minute with a right-foot finish from the right after a through ball from Giovani Lo Celso.

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Post-match
The match was the last international appearance of Ángel Di María, who was named Man of the Match.

Security breaches and arrests
The Miami-Dade Police Department reported making 27 arrests and 55 ejections at the match. Ramón Jesurún, President of the Colombian Football Federation, was not present at the awards ceremony; he and his son Ramón Jamil Jesurún were arrested for three felony counts of battery and are accused of fighting multiple security guards. On July 16, the Colombia Football Federation issued a statement regretting the incident and apologizing to the tournament organizers, the host country, and the people in attendance who were affected. In addition, the Colombian Football Federation statement also claimed that Jesurún deeply regrets what happened. CONMEBOL also released a statement claiming that it bears “regret that the acts of violence caused by malicious individuals have tarnished a final that was ready to be a great sports celebration," but avoided addressing Jesurún's arrest.

ESPN reported that Hard Rock Stadium was left with significant damage after the event, including shattered escalator railings and bent security railings.

CONMEBOL released a statement after the match that blamed local stadium officials for not implementing its recommended safety procedures. Stadium officials responded with a statement that said that they implemented and exceeded CONMEBOL's security recommendations. CONCACAF told The Athletic that "matchday ops, security, the physical running of the tournament is 100 per cent CONMEBOL."

Argentina team celebrations
The French Football Federation announced on July 16 that it would file legal complaints against the Argentina national team over "unacceptable, racist and discriminatory" chants that Argentina players shared on social media during their post-match celebrations. Investigations into the chants were also launched by FIFA and Chelsea F.C., the club of Enzo Fernández who shared a video of the chants on social media.

The government of Argentina announced that Julio Garro ceased to be the country's undersecretary of sport after he said that the Argentina team's captain, Lionel Messi, and the AFA president, Claudio Tapia, should apologize for the offensive songs.