Chile battled Argentina to a 0-0 stalemate through 120 grueling minutes before prevailing 4-2 in a penalty-kick shootout in the Copa America Centenario final at a sold-out MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.

It was the second straight Copa America title for La Roja, who triumphed in the tournament's hundredth-anniversary special edition to back up their win over La Albiceleste (also on penalties) in the final of last year's regular iteration.

In a riveting, albeit scoreless contest, it was the goalkeepers who emerged as the decisive players. Sergio Romero was superb between the posts for Argentina, but Chile's Claudio Bravo was even better, coming up with a brilliant save on a Sergio Aguero header in the 100th minute and stopping one attempt during the shootout.

For his efforts, Bravo was awarded the Golden Glove as the tournament's best netminder. Chile's Eduardo Vargas won the Golden Boot as the top scorer (6 goals), while teammate Alexis Sanchez took home the Golden Ball as the Copa's most outstanding player.

Coming in on a scintillating run of form, Argentina's Lionel Messi surely would have claimed the latter honor had his team come out on top. The five-time world player of the year showed flashes of his customary brilliance, but was unable to dominate as he had in previous games, and stunningly missed his PK attempt. With a fourth straight loss in major tournament finals, the biggest gap in his resume remains unfilled, as his national side has not lifted a senior-level trophy since 1993.

Messi, 29, was so disconsolate after his latest failure to end his country's title drought that he announced his intention to retire from international competition.

"My thinking right now and thinking about it in the locker room, I'm done playing with the national team," he told reporters. "I tried my hardest. It's been four finals, and I was not able to win. I tried everything possible. It hurts me more than anyone, but it is evident that this is not for me. I want more than anyone to win a title with the national team, but unfortunately, it did not happen."

If Sunday's match turns out to be Messi's last in an Argentina shirt, it will also go down as perhaps the most bitterly contested. Play was brutally physical from the start. Chilean midfielder Marcelo Diaz was sent off in the 28th minute after receiving his second yellow card, both for takedowns of Messi. Argentina's man-advantage was short lived, as defender Marcos Rojo received a straight red card a quarter-hour later for a vicious tackle on Chile's Arturo Vidal.

In the ten-on-ten situation, both sides found more room to operate, and both had their chances during the second half, though neither was able to break through. In the 80th minute, Vargas took a long ball from Sanchez and got off a strong shot on goal, but Romero deftly parried it. Ten minutes later, Sanchez had a close-range effort blocked by Argentina's Ramiro Funes Mori. Messi quickly sprung on the counterattack, dribbling through four defenders and unleashing a left-footed blast from 16 yards that missed the near post.

Per Copa America rules, the final is the only match of the tournament that goes into extra time if regulation ends in a draw. Two 15-minute periods were added on for the two sides to decide matters without resort to a shootout.

Despite visibly fighting fatigue, both teams were able to generate some tantalizing scoring opportunities. In the 99th minute, Vargas' header from the middle of the box was saved by Romero. Shortly thereafter, Messi delivered a free kick to Aguero, who flicked a header on frame from near the penalty spot. Bravo leapt and tipped it just over the crossbar for a game-saving stop.

Thus, for the second straight year, the Copa America would come down to penalty kicks. Vidal was up first, but Romero dove to his left to stop his low, hard shot. As he stepped to the spot, Messi paused and stared grimly at the ball, clearly feeling the gravity of the moment. To the shock of most of the 82,026 in attendance, Argentina's talisman—who had never before missed in a PK shootout—sent his left-footed attempt well over crossbar, burying his face in his hands in dismay.

Nicolas Castillo, Charles Aranguiz, and Jean Beausejour converted for Chile, as did Javier Mascherano and Aguero for Argentina, before Bravo made another diving save on Lucas Biglia's attempt. With an opportunity to seal the win for his country, Francisco Silva calmly slotted into the bottom left corner, igniting an exuberant Chilean celebration on the field and in the stands.

Sunday's match marked a stirring finish for this year's Copa America, which was held in the United States for the first time and was, by most metrics, a success. Despite steep (some would say overinflated) ticket prices, attendance for the tournament's 32 matches averaged more than 46,000 people, making it the best-attended edition in the competition's history. Fans were passionate, but good-natured, largely eschewing the hooliganism that has marred this summer's European Championship. Television ratings were solid on the Univision and FOX networks.

The U.S. Soccer Federation, which served as the local organizing committee for the Centenario, hopes the tournament will serve as a springboard toward hosting other major tournaments in the future, including a possible bid for the 2026 World Cup.