The Copa América paid a spectacular tribute to Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi scored a great goal in Argentina’s debut

(CNN) – On Monday night, a spectacular tribute was paid to Argentine legend Diego Maradona before the opening match of the Copa América 2021.

Maradona, an Argentine icon and widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, died after suffering heart failure in November last year.

Before Argentina’s 1-1 draw at the Estádio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro, an extraordinary light show with futuristic effects paid tribute to “El Pelusa.”

It featured a holographic version of Maradona kicking the ball in midfield while the jersey he was wearing changed following the teams he played for, from Barcelona to Napoli to Newell’s Old Boys.

THANKS DIEGO! ?

Emotional tribute to the star Diego Armando Maradona ?? at CONMEBOL #America Cup ?

Eternal ?!#VibraElContinente pic.twitter.com/vHKGeXugKm

– Copa América (@CopaAmerica) June 14, 2021

He also paid tribute to some milestones in his brilliant career, all of them framed in the iconic number 10 he used to wear, notably the great goal he scored against England at the 1986 World Cup.

The debut between Argentina and Chile

Argentina participates for the first time in a tournament of the first importance since the death of Maradona, and in his debut against Chile paid him the perfect tribute, with a glorious free kick goal by Lionel Messi, considered the heir of Maradona.

In the 33rd minute, with the score tied, Messi shot from outside the area, without goalkeeper Claudio Bravo being able to prevent the ball from sneaking into the corner. It was Messi’s 73rd international goal.

However, despite the absence of their star Alexis Sánchez, Chile came out strong in the second half, scoring a penalty in their favor in the 12th minute.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez was able to deflect Arturo Vidal’s attempt to the crossbar, but Eduardo Vargas finished off the rebound and scored the goal.

Although the draw extends Argentina’s unbeaten streak under Lionel Scaloni to 14 matches, he would have expected a stronger start to his Copa América campaign.

“This game got complicated for us,” Messi said later. «We lacked tranquility to win, when we got the advantage we lacked having the ball, playing fast. The penalty changed the game.

Covid-19 cases increase

Although fans will have been happy that the Copa América can go ahead this year, this has not been without its difficulties.

The 47th edition of the competition was to be jointly organized by Argentina and Colombia, but the organizers decided to withdraw it first from Colombia, due to widespread social unrest in the country, and then also from Argentina, due to the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic 19.

However, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro came to the rescue, boasting that the country was going to hold the tournament, despite widespread opposition and the country’s struggle to contain the pandemic.

Just two days before the start of the tournament, the Brazilian team – the Seleção – announced its willingness to participate, despite having expressed its open opposition to the tournament in an unusual public statement.

According to the World Health Organization, the country has registered more than 17 million confirmed cases and more than 480,000 deaths. More than 70 million doses of vaccines have been administered.

Twelve Venezuelan players and officials tested positive for COVID-19 a day before their opening match, as well as four members of the Bolivian team.

As reported on Monday by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, at least 41 cases of covid-19 have been registered among players, members of delegations and service providers of the Copa América tournament.

Thirty-one of the cases correspond to players and staff of national teams, and the rest to service providers, according to the ministry.

The positive tests were sent to a laboratory to identify if the infections are caused by covid-19 variants. The results are expected to be known within 14 days.

With information from Rodrigo Pedroso.