Rio de Janeiro, Jul 11: Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazil's Neymar were picked as the two best players of the Copa America just before they met in the final.

"It is not possible to choose only one (best) player because this tournament has two of them," CONMEBOL said in a statement.

Messi dished up four goals and five assists in six matches.

Neymar delivered two goals and three assists in five games.

CONMEBOL's technical study group added that the players had a positive impact on their teams and were "the reflection of the South American DNA in every match they played" in the Copa.

The study group included Colombia's Francisco Maturana and Carlos Restrepo; Uruguay's Daniel Ba ales and Gerardo Pelusso; Argentina's Sergio Batista and Nery Pumpido and Brazil's Oswaldo de Oliveira.

Argentina captain Messi has so far played his best tournament with the national team since his debut in 2005. He is also comfortable as the leader on the pitch, in contrast with the shy Messi of past tournaments.

Meanwhile, Neymar has steered Brazil with his dribbles, passes and shots. Also, his exchanges with midfielder Lucas Paquet have made Brazil more fluid up front.

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Pune (PTI): A horse was injured and a few vehicles were damaged after a hoarding collapsed due to strong winds in Maharashtra’s Pune city, police said.

The billboard crashed to the ground between 5 pm and 6 pm on Saturday outside a wedding hall near Kavdi Pat toll booth on the Pune-Solapur Highway, an official said.

The incident comes days after a giant illegal billboard in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area collapsed on a petrol pump due to gusty winds and unseasonal rains, killing 16 persons and injuring 75.

Citing preliminary information about the incident in Pune, the police on Saturday said the hoarding collapsed due to strong winds and it fell on a horse, and a few vehicles, including one brought by a band party, outside the Gulmohar Lawns wedding hall.

The injured horse was rescued and taken for treatment, the official said.