Argentina’s dominance over Canada continued in the Copa America semifinals on Tuesday night, with a 2-0 victory securing their place in the championship game.Argentina’s dominance over Canada continued in the Copa America semifinals on Tuesday night, with a 2-0 victory securing their place in the championship game. Goals from Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez highlighted Argentina’s clinical finishing, while Canada’s spirited performance was ultimately overshadowed by the South American giants’ superior quality. Despite the loss, the Canadian team, ranked 48th in the world, earned praise for their resilience and determination in front of a capacity crowd at MetLife Stadium. They showcased their attacking prowess on several occasions, but their lack of clinical finishing proved costly. The match kicked off with a positive start for Canada, but Argentina’s first shot on goal in the 22nd minute proved decisive. Alvarez’s well-placed strike gave Argentina the lead, despite Canadian protests over a potential foul in the build-up. Messi doubled Argentina’s advantage in the 51st minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse by Canada. Despite video review, the goal was allowed to stand, giving Messi his first of the tournament and extending his impressive Copa America record. Canada’s captain, Alphonso Davies, was forced off the field in the 71st minute due to an injury sustained in a tackle, adding to the team’s frustrations. The game ended on a sour note, with some animosity between the two sides after a Canadian player kicked the ball at an Argentine player. Argentina will now face either Colombia or Uruguay in Sunday’s championship game, while Canada will play for third place on Saturday. Despite the disappointment of defeat, the Canadian team can take pride in their performance at the Copa America, demonstrating their growing potential on the international stage.
By The Canadian Press on July 9, 2024.
Argentina’s Julian Alvarez celebrates his team’s opening goal against Canada during a Copa America semifinal in East Rutherford, N.J., Tuesday, July 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Pamela Smith
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Goals from Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez gave top-ranked Argentina a win over Canada. The star-studded South American team showed its mettle in a 2-0 victory in the Copa America semifinals on Tuesday.
Despite the loss, the Canadians, ranked 48th, did not disappoint in front of a capacity crowd of 80,102 on a hot, humid evening at MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets and the site of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
The boisterous crowd was largely dressed in Argentine blue, although there was some red in evidence. They saw a gutsy performance from Canada, albeit lacking in clinical finishing, and sheer class from Argentina, whose passing and build-up play at times looked straight out of a video game.
The Canadians also lost 2-0 to Argentina when they met in the tournament opener on June 20 in Atlanta. Argentina defeated Canada 5-0 in their only other meeting, in May 2010 in Buenos Aires in the Argentinians’ final warm-up for the World Cup in South Africa.
Messi and Argentina will play either No. 12 Colombia or No. 14 Uruguay, who meet Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sunday’s championship game will be at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Canada heads to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday for the third-place match.
Argentina showed what it was made of: it gave the ball a good turn, but when it saw an opening in the Canadian defence, it immediately switched.
And despite a positive start, Canada fell behind in the 22nd minute on Argentina’s first shot on goal. The Canadian defence was sliced open by a long pass from Rodrigo De Paul, who Alvarez controlled with a nice first touch before overpowering Moise Bombito and letting a shot slip through the legs of goalkeeper Max Crepeau.
Coach Jesse Marsch and the Canadian bench were furious, believing a foul by Argentine Nicolás Tagliafico – who bulldozed Richie Laryea as he tried to stop Crepeau’s goal kick, giving the South Americans possession – had been missed before the goal was scored. Eight touches later, the ball was in the Canadian net.
But Chilean referee Piero Maza let the teams play, much to Marsch’s displeasure. The Canadian coach was eventually warned in the 77th minute for voicing his displeasure with the refereeing.
Messi made it 2-0 in the 51st minute with a slight redirection of Enzo Fernandez’s shot through traffic after Canada failed to clear the ball. Canada had eight defenders in front of Crepeau in the box but could not suppress the threat.
The goal survived a video check for offside and Messi was given the green light for his first goal of the tournament and the 14th of his Copa America career.
Canada captain Alphonso Davies was forced off the field in the 71st minute after being injured in a hard tackle by Gonzalo Montiel, which went unpunished.
There was some further animosity towards the end of the match, when Argentina became angry after Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone brutally kicked the ball at one of their fallen players.
The Canadian men were hoping to reach their first tournament final since the 2000 Gold Cup, when they defeated Colombia to capture the CONCACAF title.
Canada, the last survivor of the six CONCACAF host teams, is making its Copa debut. The Canadian men defeated No. 99 Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 in a play-off in March to advance to the 16-nation field – the 11th-ranked team at the tournament.
It was an eventful match for the Canadian team led by Marsch, the 50-year-old American who has brought a youthful and confident feel to his new team and also has a new captain in Davies.
Crepeau has established himself as Canada’s No. 1 goalie. Bombito and Derek Cornelius have become the heart of the defense, while speedy winger Jacob Shaffelburg has had a breakout tournament.
There have been challenges.
Bombito was the victim of online racist abuse after a heavy tackle on Messi in the tournament opener, while winger Tajon Buchan broke his leg in training.
Marsch made only one change to the starting line-up that defeated Venezuela. Kone scored the decisive penalty in the shootout after coming on from the bench, replacing Jonathan Osorio.
Canada tried to keep the Argentinians under pressure from the start and mounted two early counter-attacks, with Shaffelburg firing wide of the target.
Messi fired just wide on an Argentine counterattack in the 11th minute. And the ever-dangerous Argentine captain missed again with a low shot late in the first half, followed by an attempted chip over Crepeau in injury time.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, with the Argentine flag painted into the side of his hair, was called into action in the dying seconds of the half after Jonathan David turned home a long throw-in from Alistair Johnston from close range.
For the second game in a row, Argentina made Canada wait to start the second half. With Canada trailing 2-0, Crepeau was brought in again to stop Alvarez.
Ali Ahmed, Liam Millar, Tani Oluwaseyi, Mathieu Choiniere and Osorio came on for Canada in the second half. The substitutions helped get the attack going, with Canada threatening the South Americans as the clock ran out.
Oluwaseyi had two more good chances in the final minutes, with an acrobatic Martinez getting his body in front of the first shot in the 89th minute, but the Canadian substitute saw his header go just wide.
Argentina have reached the semi-finals with just one loss in 18 games (16-1-1) since beating France on penalty shootout in the December 2022 World Cup final. Their only loss during that run came in a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in World Cup qualifying in November, and the draw last time out came in a penalty shootout win over No. 30 Ecuador.
That didn’t stop Canadian rapper Drake from placing a $300,000 bet on Canada winning, a wager that would pay $2.88 million if successful. Drake posted the bet slip online, as he often does with his bets.
After losing to Argentina in the tournament opener, Canada defeated No. 31 Peru 1-0 and drew with No. 40 Chile 0-0 to finish second in Group A behind Argentina. The Canadians then defeated No. 54 Venezuela in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.
Argentina are seeking their third major title after the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup. The Argentines are tied with Uruguay for the most Copa America titles with 15.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2024.
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