Argentina went on to reach the final of the tournament, where they suffered a 3–0 defeat to Brazil on 15 July. Mascherano’s outstanding performance at the tournament saw him widely selected as the best Argentine player in a squad full of stars. On 8 June 2008, Mascherano received his first red card for the national team after receiving two yellow cards in a match against the United States. He was sent off in the 86th minute of the match, which finished 0–0. Later that year, Mascherano was selected to represent Argentina under-23 squad at 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as an overage player. He was thrilled at the call-up, saying, "It's important for any athlete to defend the gold medal. I might be the only person from my country ever to do it and I'll go down in history." Argentina won the tournament, making Mascherano only the second Argentine sportsman ever (following polo player Juan Nelson) to win two Olympic gold medals. Soon after being appointed head coach of Argentina in November 2008, Diego Maradona announced that he wanted Mascherano to be the team's captain. "I want Mascherano to be my captain because I believe he is the Argentinian player who is closest to the idea I have about the Argentinian shirt – sweat for it, sacrifice for it, being a professional, being close to the team-mate," Maradona said. "I will convince him. He will be my captain." Mascherano was appointed the new Argentina captain on 10 November, replacing Javier Zanetti. At the 2010 World Cup, Argentina was captained by Messi, who became Argentina’s youngest World Cup captain and reached the quarter-finals where they were again eliminated by Germany, 4–0. He only missed the last match of the group stage against Greece. Mascherano captained Argentina during the 2011 Copa América on home soil, but the team were defeated by Uruguay at the quarter-final stage. In August 2011, Mascherano was replaced as Argentina captain by Lionel Messi, who was appointed to the role by new manager Alejandro Sabella. Mascherano became vice-captain in the national squad. In the 2014 World Cup, Mascherano played his 100th international match for Argentina in a match against Iran, which la Albiceleste won 1–0. During the tournament, Messi wore the captain's armband and commentators often described the team as Messi plus ten other players, however Mascherano was the squad's de facto leader and midfield general. Mascherano asserted