The grand finale of Copa America is right upon us and what a jaw-dropping fixture we have in our hands. Another chapter in the grand old footballing rivalry between Argentina and Brazil is waiting to be written.   

After trumping the likes of Chile and Peru, Brazil have made their way into the finals and will be filled with adrenaline to defend the Copa America title.

Meanwhile, Argentina are hoping to clear the cobwebs in their trophy cabinet and end their 28-year-long drought. 

BRAZIL (4-2-3-1)

For Brazil, manager Tite has opted for an unchanged starting lineup from the semifinals against Peru. Meanwhile, Everton Soares of Benfica will keep his place after he replaced Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus, who received a red card in the quarters. 

Brazil has been on hot form throughout the tournament, winning three of their four group stage matches and drawing one. Pitted against a formidable opponent in Chile, they also showed great composure to go see off the game even after going 10-man down. Against a resilient Peru side in the semis, Brazil had to work for their goal but Lucas Paqueta was on the mark. 

Starting XI: Ederson Moraes; Danilo Da Silva, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Renan Lodi; Casemiro, Fred; Lucas Paquetá, Everton Soares, Richarlison; Neymar Junior.

ARGENTINA (4-3-3)

Argentina’s run in Copa America hasn’t been the smoothest. In the very first game of the tournament, they were held for a 1-1 draw by Chile. However, since then, manager Lionel Scaloni tweaked the tactics into a more natural 4-3-3, which allowed more mobility up front.  

In the knockout stages, La Albiceleste registered a hefty win followed in the quarter-final, where they defeated Ecuador 3-0, before goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez starred as Argentina beat Colombia 3-2 on penalties in the semis.  

The only major change for the finals is the inclusion of Angel Di Maria in the starting XI. The winger looked like the most promising of all Argentine attackers when he was subbed on in the last game. Di Maria, as we all know, is very capable of providing the killing blow when the opportunity comes.

Starting XI: Emiliano Martinez, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Acuna; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso; Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez