SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On the day his grandmother died back home, Angel Di Maria’s mother asked him to stay with his team, stay focused, and represent his country well in Copa America.
He made them all proud with a gutsy performance.
Di Maria scored in the 51st minute off a pass from Ever Banega, then later assisted on Banega’s goal, and top-ranked Argentina looked plenty powerful without injured captain Lionel Messi in beating Chile 2-1 in its Copa America opener Monday night.
After his goal, Di Maria held up a shirt reading “Grandma, I’ll miss you very much.