Here it was, the one they had all been waiting for. A semi-final showdown between the two biggest rivals in international football.
A clash that was meant to save a tournament dogged by low attendances and dodgy pitches, which thankfully didn’t fail to deliver.
The host nation’s limp support also blasted since their opening fixture against Bolivia, finally it had woken up to Copa America fever.
Singing the national anthem with vigour and continuing it acapella long after the music had finished, they cheered Tite’s men on passionately where previously there had been boos.
Rather than be intimidated by what had happened here five years ago against the Germans, Brazil’s paying public attempted to transform this into a hostile environment for their guests.
After all, the venue had also become a place to forget for their eternal rivals too after a 3-0 World Cup qualifying trouncing in November 2016 – their last competitive meeting – which still lingered.
As could be expected, this was a rough affair from the get-go with Argentina in particular targeting Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus through a string of crunching tackles often penalised.
After just eight minutes, Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico – charged with marking the Man City No 9 on Tuesday – was booked, though that still didn’t stop attacker Lautaro Martinez also having his own dig in sequence.
Keeping Alisson on his toes with a long range shot just over the bar, Leandro Paredes was additionally involved in a spot of afters with Philippe Coutinho around the quarter of an hour mark just before Brazil started enjoying more success moving forward.
Although it didn’t come when Foyth got too confident and was robbed of the ball near the 18-yard box, given that Gabriel Jesus couldn’t control it to his advantage, Captain Marvel Daniel Alves took matters into his own hands three minutes later.
Daily mail report.
