Messi's Argentina beats Brazil 1-0, wins Copa America title
Rio de Janeiro, Jul 11: Two long droughts ended at the Copa America final: Argentina won its first major title since 1993 after a 1-0 win against Brazil. And Lionel Messi finally lifted his first major trophy for the national team, filling in one of the biggest gaps in his decorated career.
Argentina's winning goal at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday came in the 22nd minute after Rodrigo de Paul made a long pass to ngel 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.
When the match ended, a tearful Mess knelt down and put his hands on his face. Then most of his teammates ran in his direction to celebrate and threw him into the air.
Once criticized by Argentina fans for his quietness, he went to the few hundred guests chanting his name at the Maracana and chanted with them. Messi kissed the trophy before lifting it into the air during the presentations.
The match at the Maracana started with some surprises. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made five changes from the starting lineup that beat Colombia on penalties in the semifinal.
Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Marcos Acu a, Leandro Paredes and Di Mar a took the places of Nahuel Molina, Nicol s Tagliafico, Guido Rodr guez and Nicol s Gonz lez.
Brazil, a team recognized for its steadiness, did not make any changes from the team that advanced to the final.
The teams were cautious early in the match, barely offering chances. When Argentina opened the scoring in a rare Brazil defensive mistake and Di Maria's classy finish, the match became more physical and Argentina successfully stopped the ball from getting to Neymar.
Neymar tried hard with dribbles and passes, but the Selecao barely threatened Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the first half. Argentina sat in the back, hoping for counter-attacks.
Brazil coach Tite tried to change the dynamic of the match by replacing defensive midfielder Fred for Roberto Firmino, and managed to do so for much of the second half. But though the Selecao had more ball posession there were few real opportunities.
Messi's performance in the final was not as impressive as in previous matches of the tournament, during which he scored four goals and had five assists. He had a clear opportunity in the 88th minute, tried to dribble Ederson, but the Brazilian goalkeeper stopped him.
"I can't cry yet," Di Maria said after the match.
"We dreamed of getting this, and we fought. Many people criticized us and asked us not to come back (to the national team)."
The title, however, provides the superstar some relief after all the questions throughout his career on his effectiveness playing for the national team.
The South American trophy is a relief for Argentina, which won its last major title when Messi was only 6 years old. Saturday's victory in Rio gave the team its 15th Copa America title, this time unbeaten, equaling Uruguay's total. Brazil has won the South American title nine times.
Messi, who has several titles with Barcelona, had reached the final of Copa America three times and lost all of them in 2007, 2015 and 2016. Now, he will have good memories at the Maracana, where Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany.
Brazil became last-minute hosts of 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.
This final, finally, was different. @avicreditor on the end to the wait for Argentina and Lionel Messi and a #CopaAmerica title that means everything for its victor and brightest starhttps://t.co/9TTlexRo7Z pic.twitter.com/uQV2kyrFcf
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) July 11, 2021
#CopaAmérica ?
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) July 11, 2021
¡A los pies de la copa! Enorme festejo del plantel argentino con su gente ??
?? Argentina ? Brasil ??#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/Sgr48GOBkR
#CopaAmérica ?@Argentina salió campeón de América y estas fueron las acciones más destacadas de la final ante Brasil
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) July 11, 2021
?? Argentina ? Brasil ??#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/uXB9krhnbB
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High-power computing AI cloud being developed for armed forces: Par panel on defence
New Delhi (PTI): A parliamentary panel on defence has said that a "high-power computing AI cloud" is being developed effectively for the armed forces, and recommended that all technology-related programmes must follow laid-down time lines of their delivery to enable the forces to use and adapt themselves in a timely manner.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, in its report presented in Parliament on Tuesday, also recommended that the efforts made by the Army towards women empowerment will "remain unabated" in the years to come so that a "level playing field for the women shall be created".
The report is titled "Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/ Recommendations contained in the Eighth Report of Standing Committee on Defence (18th Lok Sabha) on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Defence for the year 2025-26 on Army, Air Force, Navy, Joint Staff, Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme and Directorate General of Armed Forces Medical Services."
In its report, the panel said, "During the oral evidence, a representative of the Navy informed the Committee that there are plans to increase the number of ships and submarines to 234 in the next few years."
"At present, there are a total of 61 ships under construction, which will be inducted into the Navy by the year 2030. The Navy submitted that out of this, 60 ships are being built in our Indian shipyards. The Committee have also been informed that apart from under-construction projects, the Navy has been given the government's Acceptance of Necessity for these inductions of which construction will start in the next one to two years," it said.
Appreciating the efforts made by the Navy towards achieving indigenisation, the panel recommend that concerted efforts be made to expedite completion of the ongoing projects so that the Navy attains "greater degree of 'Aatmanirbharta' in near future".
The Defence Ministry, in its action taken reply, has said that currently, 60 of the 61 warships under construction are being built in India, while contract conclusion in respect of 62 more ships and submarines, and 120 fast interceptor craft, to be built in domestic shipyards, is also at an "advanced stage".
Achieving higher indigenous content across weapons, sensors and equipment that supports the growth of the Indian shipbuilding sector continues to be a key focus area. Ongoing shipbuilding projects are being actively pursued with concerned shipyards for timely fructification, the government said.
"To achieve timely completion of ongoing projects, the production directorate at NHQ (naval headquarters) are reviewing the progress of these ongoing projects through Warship Oversee Team (WOT) using a structured review mechanism. In the last 10 years, an average of 65 per cent of the total expenditure has been focused towards indigenous procurement. During FY 2023-24, the ratio of 83.91:16.09 between Indian and foreign sources has been achieved," it told the panel.
The Committee had expressed hope that the country marches ahead in indigenous content in ship design and construction so as to achieve the goal of self-reliance, thereby supporting the domestic industrial-military ecosystem.
The panel further said it has been informed that a "high-power computing AI cloud is being developed effectively for all the three Services."
"The Committee understand that conventional wars were fought in only three modes i.e., land, air and water, but recently there is a paradigm shift in the technology used in fighting a war.
"There have been innovations and experiments in western countries, and the use of drones, including sea-drones, space, cyberspace, kinetic and non-kinetic format etc. has enveloped the sphere of war, which can be fought from very distant locations through a remote-controlled methodology," it said.
The panel said it is "confident that the technology-related National Missions, National Quantum Mission and high-power computing AI cloud will definitely enable our armed forces to develop a robust digital infrastructure, besides improving the existing weaponry".
"While appreciating all these critical developments, the Committee, can here, only recommend that all the initiatives/programs must follow laid-down time lines of their technological delivery to enable the Forces to use and adapt themselves in a timely manner," it added.
The government has replied that modernisation of the Indian Army is progressing as part of a "deliberate and comprehensive 'Integrated Capability Development Plan' ensuring induction of modern military platforms as well as rapid embracement of new technologies to ensure 24x7 operational readiness in defence of the country".
The Committee also said it is "happy to learn that a number of steps have been taken to ensure induction of more women in Indian Army".
On the IAF, he said, during deliberations, a representative of the Indian Air Force apprised the Committee that the "capability of Su-30 is being upgraded through indigenous upgraded programme and will be executed by HAL, DRDO and private industry under the supervision of IAF".
On Navy's manpower, it said, during deliberations, a representative of the Navy informed the Committee that the "Indian Navy has 10,045 officers, 59,828 sailors, 11,634 Agniveers and 32,171 defence civilians".
"The Committee have been informed that all personnel are fully trained for their work and are fully capable of maintaining combatability and operational preparedness of the Navy," it said.
