Nicolás González came on for Lionel Messi when he got hurt in the second half of the Copa America final.

In the second half of the 2024 Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Lionel Messi was hurt and had to leave the game. He was devastated.

Lionel Messi in tears after being taken off because of an injury in the Copa America final

As both teams frantically tried to break the tie in the 64th minute, Messi went down on the ground and grabbed his ankle. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. He may have put his right foot down in an odd way during the game, which could have caused the injury. Nicolás González quickly took over as captain of the World Cup-winning team.

With his right shoe in his hand, Messi walked off the pitch and then threw his boot in anger. Messi was crying as he sat on the bench with 26 minutes left in normal time. He cried a lot, covering his face with tears because he was so upset about getting hurt and not being able to play in the final anymore. His friends then tried to comfort him.

Video from the game showed that his right ankle was even taped up with ice as the crowd in Miami chanted “Messi, Messi.” Fans from Colombia yelled “James! James! James!” in response.

There were less than 10 minutes left in the first half of the game when Messi went down after falling awkwardly while chasing a ball out of bounds. He put his right leg down and rolled over several times. He was helped to his feet after trainers worked on the area for a few minutes. He took a slow step towards the sidelines and then went back to the game.

Messi missed Argentina’s final game in the group stage because he was hurt and uncomfortable in his leg for most of the event. During the first half on Sunday, he only took one shot.

Earlier in the evening, the Copa America final had to be put off because thousands of fans who didn’t have tickets rushed security and tried to get in anyway. Fans were seen running across the concourses and trying to break through the Hard Rock Stadium gates in the videos that went popular on social media.

Later, police shut down the gates and locked everyone inside, leaving a lot of fans waiting outside to get inside before the game started. As the violence outside grew, both teams were taken off the pitch.