Angel Di Maria paid tribute to his grandmother after opening the scoring for Argentina against Chile on Monday night. Omar Vega/LatinContent/Getty Images

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Just hours after learning that his maternal grandmother had died, Angel Di Maria imagined how she might react if he didn't play in Argentina's Copa America Centenario opener against Chile.

"If I don't play my grandma was going to get mad," he said through a translator.

On a night when Argentina was missing Lionel Messi due to a back injury, Di Maria delivered under the most trying of circumstances, scoring the opening goal in the 51st minute, and later assisting on Ever Banega's eventual game-winner in a 2-1 victory.

After his goal, the Paris Saint-Germain star held up a shirt that read, "Grandma, I will miss you so much."

"It's difficult to be away when something like this happens," Di Maria said through tears as he accepted the Man of the Match award. "My mom asked me to stay here with my teammates and to win the game."