Heartbreak for Atlas Goalkeeper Camilo Vargas in the Copa América Final

Argentina lifted their 16th Copa América title last night, making them the most coveted country in the competition's history. The feat was achieved following a 1-0 win over Colombia in the final at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Lionel Scaloni's side managed to retain the title after winning it in 2021 for the first time in 28 years.

The decisive moment came in the 112th minute as Inter Milan's Lautaro Martínez lofted his one-on-one effort over the Atlas goalkeeper.

Camilo Vargas, the Atlas first-choice goalkeeper, played every minute of the competition. On the way to the final, he and his team kept clean sheets in the quarter and semi final games against Panama and Uruguay. Until the showpiece encounter with Argentina, he and his Colombian team only leaked two goals, those coming from Julio Enciso of Paraguay and Barcelona's Raphinha during a 1-1 draw with Brazil.

Vargas, aged 35, has played much of career as the second-choice for Colombia. Often behind former Arsenal, Nice and Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina. Since 2011, Vargas has had to be patient, waiting on the sidelines for opportunities and has only represented Colombia 13 since making his debut in 2014.

In his career, Vargas spent a large part of his time in his native Colombia. Spending his formative years with Santa Fe, he was signed by Atletico Nacional in 2015 before spending a few years away from the Medellín club with spells at Deportivo Cali and a year in Argentina with Argentinos Juniors. In 2019, he put pen to paper for a move to Guadalajara for Atlas. In his four years with the club, he has won the 2021 Liga MX Apertura and the 2022 Liga MX Clausura.

The shot-stopper would have been hoping to add a piece of silverware for the national team to his cabinet, especially given that they were on a 28-game unbeaten streak before the final. Their last defeat before the Copa América final as came from a 1-0 loss to Argentina, in a World Cup qualifying game in February 2022 with Martínez also providing a key moment in that game to beat Vargas.

Atlas have two league games to play before the Leagues Cup starts at the end of July, which is when we are most likely to see the Copa América runner feature next for the Guadalajara club. As for Colombia, they will continue their World Cup qualification in September with matches against Peru and a replay for the Copa América final against Argentina on Saturday 7th September.