Copa America final: Argentina's road to Miami

The scene is set for the Copa America at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida in the early hours of Monday morning, as defending champions Argentina take on Colombia.

It has been a trophy-laden period for La Albiceleste, who won this tournament in 2021 before following that up with World Cup success in Qatar a year later.

Colombia, champions back in 2001, stand in Argentina's way of a record 16th Copa America success as the duo prepare to do battle in the USA.

Group stage

Argentina 2-0 Canada
Chile 0-1 Argentina
Argentina 2-0 Peru

Argentina kicked off their Copa America defence against tournament debutants Canada and, having been held for the opening 45 minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, the reigning champions kicked into gear after the restart.

Manchester City ace Julian Alvarez scored in the 49th minute before Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez - coming into the competition on the back of a stellar domestic campaign - bagged two minutes from time.

It was a tougher affair for Lionel Scaloni's side in the second group game against Chile and it looked like the two teams were on course for a 0-0 draw, only for Martinez to pop up in the 88th minute for the second match in a row to snatch the victory.

Having already secured their place in the quarter-finals, Argentina could relax in their final group contest against Peru, although they had to make do without captain Lionel Messi who missed out due to an injury.

The skipper's absence didn't affect the team, though, with his replacement in the side, Martinez, scoring a second-half brace in the comfortable 2-0 victory to take his personal tally to four in the tournament.

It was interesting to see that all of Argentina's goals in the group stage came in the second half, proving that their opponents were unable to last the full distance against a squad boasting so much quality.

Quarter-finals

Argentina 1-1 Ecuador (Argentina won 4-2 on penalties)

Argentina were yet to concede a goal heading into their quarter-final against Ecuador and a fourth clean sheet in a row looked to be on the cards after Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez scored in the 35th minute.

With the score remaining 1-0 heading into stoppage time, Ecuador needed a hero and that came in the shape of Kevin Rodriguez, who found the back of the net in the 92nd minute to force penalties.

The shootout started terribly for Argentina when Messi failed to convert, but Ecuador couldn't take advantage as Angel Mena had his effort saved by Emi Martinez.

Alvarez then scored before Martinez saved Alan Minda's penalty, putting the defending champions 1-0 ahead with both teams having taken two penalties.

Alexis Mac Allister and Gonzalo Montiel both traded successful spot-kicks with John Yeboah and Jordy Caicedo, before Nicolas Otamendi stepped up to send La Albiceleste through.

Just like he had been in the 2022 World Cup final, goalkeeper Martinez was the difference again for his country.

Semi-finals

Argentina 2-0 Canada

After the drama of the quarter-final tie, it was a more comfortable match for Argentina in the semi-finals as they recorded their second 2-0 victory over Canada in the tournament.

Scaloni's troops were too good for Jesse Marsch's men in the group stage and that proved to be the case again in this last four encounter, with Alvarez and Messi both on the scoresheet.

It was another solid defensive performance from Argentina, who have conceded just one goal so far, and they are just one more win away from landing a record 16th Copa America.

Colombia will be no pushovers in the final although La Albiceleste did win the last meeting 1-0, a 2022 World Cup qualifying match.

Nestor Lorenzo's side started their campaign at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, as they faced Paraguay in Group D.

Los Cafeteros leaned on experienced playmaker James Rodriguez to get them over the line in their opening match, as the former Real Madrid midfielder created both goals in a 2-1 win.

Colombia dominated proceedings and opened the scoring through Daniel Munoz before Jefferson Lerma converted another Rodriguez pass.

Julio Enciso scored a consolation goal for Paraguay, as Colombia made it nine wins on the spin in all competitions.

Colombia's win extended their unbeaten record to 24 matches, and it gave them plenty of confidence going into their second game against Costa Rica.

Lorenzo's troops made light work of their opponents as they booked their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare thanks to a 3-0 win.

Goals from  Luis Diaz, Davinson Sanchez and Jhon Cordoba pushed Colombia clear at the top of the group, putting further pressure on Brazil ahead of their group clash in Santa Clara.

Brazil joined Colombia in the knockout stages as they played out a 1-1 draw. Brazil winger Raphinha scored a delightful free-kick to give his team the lead, only for Munoz to level in first-half stoppage time.

While their 10-match winning run came to an end, Colombia finished the group stages with seven points and extended their unbeaten record to 26 matches.

Quarter-finals

Colombia 5-0 Panama

On paper, Colombia had one of the easier quarter-final ties to navigate as they faced Panama at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

La Tricolor wasted no time in stamping their authority on the game, as they took the lead inside the first 10 minutes.

Cordoba netted his second goal of the tournament in the eighth minute as he headed home from a corner before Rodriguez doubled his team's advantage from the penalty spot.

Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera brought down Jhon Arias to allow Rodriguez the chance to score, and he took it with a cool finish.

Rodriguez then turned provider as he set up Liverpool's Luis Diaz from a free-kick, with his lobbed shot catching Mosquera off guard.

Even though Colombia took their foot off the gas in the second half, they still netted two more goals. Richard Rios found his team's fourth before Colombia were awarded another penalty when Panama defender Jose Cordoba brought down Santiago Arias.

Substitute Miguel Borja stepped up and scored with the last kick of the match.

Semi-finals

Uruguay 0-1 Colombia

If Colombia were handed a relatively easy quarter-final tie, they were up against it when they faced Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay.

Bielsa's side had earned rave reviews for recent wins over both Argentina and Brazil, but they failed to find a way through at the Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina.

Colombia were fortunate as Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez missed several chances to score in the first half before Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma headed in from Rodriguez's corner.

Lorenzo's team had to dig in and play a counter-attacking approach when Munoz was sent off after being shown a second yellow card.

Uruguay pressed for a goal and were unfortunate when Luis Suarez hit the post, but Colombia held on to book their spot in the showpiece in the early hours of Monday.