An angry Lionel Messi confronted James Rodriguez in a tense exchange during Argentina's clash with Colombia in World Cup qualifying.
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Argentina draw with Colombia in feisty gameMessi clashes with RodriguezUnhappy with his Copa America commentsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Argentina played out a 1-1 draw with Colombia in a feisty match that saw Enzo Fernandez sent off and Messi exchange words with Rodriguez. According to TyC Sports, the Argentina captain was believed to have been riled by Rodriguez's recent comments about the 2024 Copa America final, when the Colombia star said: "We had an excellent Copa America. Obviously, we wanted the title, but we didn’t win the Copa America because of external things, I think. The referee favoured Argentina. He didn’t give us penalties. For me a clear one."
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Messi reportedly said: "You said they helped us in the final. You talk a lot." James replied: "I didn't say anything."
The Argentina captain was then quizzed on the incident after the match but said only: "What stays on the field, stays on the field."
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Rodriguez was actually named the player of the tournament after helping Colombia reach the final of the 2024 Copa America. However, they were beaten by Argentina as Messi and Co. followed up their World Cup win with yet another title. Yet the Colombia star's comments about the tournament have clearly not gone unnoticed by Messi and seem to have generated some ill-feeling.
