SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
Chaos unfolded at a stadium near Miami last night. Thousands of soccer fans tried to force their way in to watch the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia. It overshadowed what should have been a great day for soccer, the Copa final and the Euro 2024 championship between Spain and England. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan joins me now. Hi, Becky.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Good morning.
PFEIFFER: So this chaos at this Florida stadium was so wild that it forced officials to delay...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
PFEIFFER: ...The match by more than an hour. What exactly happened?
SULLIVAN: Yeah. Basically, thousands and thousands of people crowded the area around the stadium, many of them without tickets. Ultimately, officials said that they forcibly entered the venue - these fans did. So you could see videos posted to social media that showed basically scenes of total pandemonium, so, like, people climbing fences and walls, running around and pushing, police trying to clear.
Ultimately, people at the stadium decided to let people in to avoid a dangerous crowd crush situation. But then, of course, on the other hand, that led to reports of people with tickets arriving in their seats to find that there were people already sitting there, others who had tickets who ultimately weren't able to get in at all. These were tickets that cost thousands of dollars in some cases.
So this is just a disaster for tournament organizers, and local officials are saying that, you know, it should never have taken place and just cannot happen again.
PFEIFFER: And this tournament has been running at stadiums around the U.S. for the past month, and this wasn't...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
PFEIFFER: ...The first incident generally...
SULLIVAN: No.
PFEIFFER: ...Of this type.
SULLIVAN: Unfortunately not, no. I think you're talking about - there was a semifinal game between Columbia and Uruguay which, afterward, a match - after the match, a fight broke out in the stands near the section where Uruguay's players' families had been sitting, including children and babies. Ultimately, Uruguay players got involved in the fight. Afterward, players and the coach of the team criticized the tournament's organizers, which does include officials here in the U.S.
And so obviously, nothing is to excuse the behavior of these fans, but there is reason to track it, which is that the USA is set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026. All of this raises questions about preparedness here to handle those crowds.
PFEIFFER: Right. A lot of preparation work to do. So all of this overshadowed the game, but let's talk...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
PFEIFFER: ...About the game.
SULLIVAN: Yes.
PFEIFFER: Great Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi - this may be his last major international match.
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
PFEIFFER: How did he do?
SULLIVAN: Yeah. You know, actually, it was hard to watch because he tweaked his ankle in the first half, and then he turned it badly in the second half. Ultimately, couldn't continue - had to sub out. There was a standing ovation from the crowd, but the TV broadcast showed him sobbing on the sideline and very emotional for this very normally stoic player who has had a lot of injury struggles over the past couple years. And so that included the 2022 World Cup, actually, I should say, which didn't stop Argentina from winning that cup, and that is exactly what happened last night.
So this game was 0 to 0 through the first 90 minutes. But as the game dragged on, Argentina grew more and more aggressive. Colombia looked more and more tired. And then finally, in extra time, Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez finally found the net, and Messi was all smiles after that.
PFEIFFER: Another huge match yesterday - Spain and England...
SULLIVAN: Yep.
PFEIFFER: ...Finals of the Euro Cup. Spain won. Give us a brief overview of that game.
SULLIVAN: Yeah, you know, so Spain was the favorite in this game. It's a team full of young, exciting players, like the teenager Lamine Yamal. Spain scored first, as they have done so often in the Euros, but then held off England who had kind of reached the final, I should say, on, like, miracle vibes, like late game goals and penalty kick wins. They fought, couldn't get it done - England, that is - meaning their decadeslong streak without a major tournament win, 58 years and counting, will continue to grow.
PFEIFFER: Miracle vibes - I like that. Becky Sullivan at NPR. Thank you.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF HAROLD LOPEZ-NUSSA'S "CONGA A LA AMERICANA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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