Messi heartbreak again as Dani Alves masterclass sees Jesus and Firmino put Brazil through to the final
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THE fans came wondering if they were seeing Lionel Messi in his last ever tournament.
But they left marvelling at the performance of another Barcelona legend coming to the end of his international career.
Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino bagged the goals in a 2-0 win that was far closer than the scoreline suggested, but it was Dani Alves who epitomised the spirit of this Brazil team.
The marauding right-back attacked in a manner Messi would be proud of, then relentlessly hunted down every Argentina player who dared stray down Brazil's right flank.
It took just 19 minutes for Alves to work his magic and unlock the defence for Brazil's first goal.
Picking the ball up in midfield, he chipped the ball over the head of Acuna, then dummied De Paul to slide Firmino in on the right.
From there, the Liverpool star squared for Gabriel Jesus to convert a simple tap-in.
But that was about all the Brazilian crowd would see of their side in the opposition half as Argentina turned the screw to try to get back into the match.
A Messi free kick perfectly picked out Aguero, who headed onto the underside of the bar for the ball to drop agonisingly short of the line.
At half time, Brazil boss Tite brought Willian on for Everton to tighten things up, but it resulted in almost relentless Argentina pressure.
Just after the hour mark, and with the hosts defending like it was the 89th minute, Messi's moment came and went.
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The Argentina captain latched onto Lautaro Martinez's deflected strike, trapped the ball perfectly and thundered it against the outside of the post.
Ten minutes later, Brazil made the game safe when Gabriel Jesus intercepted in his own half as Argentina appealed for a penalty.
From there, he ran with the ball into the opposition half, easily shrugging off challenges from Pezzella and Otamendi and returned the favour to Firmino, who tapped into an empty net.
If there was a moment where it felt like the whole stadium knew the game was won, it came straight from Argentina's kick-off, when Casemiro flew into a challenge and celebrated booting the ball into Row Z - a reaction shared by the home supporters.
Brazil now go into a Copa America final against either Peru or holders Chile as overwhelming favourites, but they could be a bit short of personnel.
Both Jesus and Marquinhos went off injured in the second half and Willian was seen limping towards the end of the game.
But with his team-mates dropping like flies, 36-year-old Dani Alves looked like he could keep running for days.
He even had the time to tackle Messi, stop the ball and shimmy past the Argentina captain in the second half.
Incredibly, despite being football's most decorated ever football, Alves is currently a free agent.
Premier League clubs should take the hint.