Sachin Tendulkar hails Argentina's Copa America win, calls it 'icing on cake' for Messi

Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar congratulated Lionel Messi and Argentina after they beat Brazil 1-0 in the Copa America final to secure the national team's first title in 28 years. Messi lifted his maiden international trophy while being named the best player of the tournament in the Copa America tourney.

Sachin Tendulkar shared three images of Messi celebrating with his Argentina teammates and wrote "Heartiest congratulations to Argentina on winning the Copa America 2021 Final. It is a historic win for all the Argentinians and is an icing on the cake for Messi who has had such a stellar career. Continue inspiring."

Under the same post, Sachin Tendulkar also had a motivational message for the Brazilian team and their star man Neymar saying "The pain of losing a final is understandable. But this is just a bend in the road, not end of the road for Neymar and Brazil. They'll bounce back stronger and do themselves proud."

Argentina win first title in 28 years

Argentina's winning goal came in the 22nd minute after Rodrigo de Paul made a long pass to Ángel di Maria. The 33-year-old veteran striker counted on some sloppy defending from left-back Renan Lodi to take control and lob it past goalkeeper Ederson.

It was indeed a much-needed win for Argentina captain Lionel Messi as he overcame his nightmarish experiences in major tournament finals- FIFA World Cup 2014, Copa America 2015 & 2016 respectively where he had to be satisfied with the runners up medals. Finally, the football megastar will get an opportunity to wear the winner's medal and also a chance to lay his hands on an elusive silverware at the highest level.

Fans allowed at Copa America final but in limited number

Brazil became the last-minute host of the Copa America two weeks before kick-off after original organizers Colombia and Argentina withdrew. Many players protested against the tournament taking place as the COVID-19 pandemic causes thousands of deaths a day in South America, even more so in Brazil where 532,000 have died.

Officials allowed a few thousand fans into the Maracana for the decider, the only match in the tournament to have spectators. There was very little social distancing in celebrations, and some fans removed their masks.

By the virtue of this win, Argentina have won the Copa America title for the 15th time and are tied with Uruguay.

(Image Credits: @sachin_rt - Twitter/PTI)