Bosman; - Goals from Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez lifted Argentina past Canada at the top as the star-studded South American team showed off their mettle with a 2-0 victory in the Copa América semifinals on Tuesday.
canada-copa.jpg
Despite the loss, the 48th-ranked Canadians did not disappoint in front of a lively crowd of 80,102 on a hot, muggy night at MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL's New York Giants and Jets and headquarters for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
The raucous crowd was mostly dressed in Argentine blue, although there were patches of red. They saw a gutsy performance from Canada, if they lacked skill in finishing, and sheer class from Argentina, whose passing and preparation at times seemed like something out of a video game.
The Canadians also lost 2-0 to Argentina in their first match of the tournament on June 20 in Atlanta. Argentina beat Canada 5-0 in their only other meeting in May 2010 in Buenos Aires, in the Argentines' final warm-up before the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Messi and the Argentines will play No. 12 Colombia or No. 14 Uruguay, who will face each other on Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina C., in Sunday's championship match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
"It's crazy what this team has done, what the Argentine team is doing," Messi said. "For those who remain from the old guard, it's more than impressive that the national team is in a final again. "
Canada travels to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte for Saturday's third-place match.
Argentina showed their quality, content to caress the ball and then immediately switch gears when they saw a gap in Canada's defense.
And despite a positive start, Canada fell behind in the 22nd minute with Argentina's first shot on goal. The Canadian defense was left open by a long pass from Rodrigo De Paul, which Álvarez controlled with a good first touch before beating Moise Bombito and slotting a shot between the legs of goalkeeper Max Crepeau.
Coach Jesse Marsch and the Canadian bench were irate, believing a foul by Argentina's Nicolas Tagliafico — who steamrollered Richie Laryea as he tried to corral Crepeau's goal kick, allowing the South Americans to win possession — had been missed before the goal. Eight touches later the ball was in the Canada net.
But Chilean referee Piero Maza was letting the teams play, much to Marsch's displeasure. The Canada coach eventually received a caution in the 77th minute for voicing his displeasure with the officiating.
Messi made it 2-0 in the 51st minute with a slight redirect of an Enzo Fernandez shot through traffic after Canada failed to clear the ball. Canada had eight defenders in front of Crepeau in its penalty box but could not snuff out the threat.
The goal survived a video review check for offside with Messi getting the green light for his first goal of the tournament and his 14th in career Copa America play.
Canada captain Alphonso Davies had to leave in the 71st minute after being injured in a hard tackle by Gonzalo Montiel that went unpunished.
There was some bad blood late in the game, with Argentina upset at Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone petulantly kicking the ball into one of their fallen players.
MetLife Stadium's temporary grass surface appeared heavy, with water splashing and sand popping up during dribbles.
"It's has been a very difficult Copa America, very competitive, bad surfaces, excessive heat," Messi said.
The Canadian men were looking to reach their first tournament final since the 2000 Gold Cup when they upset Colombia to win the CONCACAF crown.
Canada, the last survivor of the six CONCACAF guest teams, is making its Copa debut.| The Canadian men beat No.99 Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 in a March playoff to make the 16-country field — as the 11th-ranked team at the tournament.
It has been an eventful competition for the Canadian side under Marsch, the 50-year-old American who has infused his new team with youth and confidence as well as a new skipper in Davies.
Crepeau has established himself as Canada's No.| 1 goalkeeper. Bombito and Derek Cornelius have become the heart of the defence while speedy winger Jacob Shaffelburg has had a breakout tournament.
Bombito was the victim of online racial abuse after a hard tackle on Messi in the tournament opener.| And winger Tajon Buchan broke his leg in training.
Marsch made just one change to the starting 11 that beat Venezuela with Kone who scored the decisive penalty in the shootout after coming in on off the bench, slotting in for Jonathan Osorio.
Canada looked to restrict the Argentines with its press from the get-go, coming forward with two early counterattacks that saw Shaffelburg fire shots off-target.
Messi shot just wide in the 11th minute on an Argentine counterattack. And the ever-dangerous Argentina captain just missed again with a low shot late in the first half, followed by an attempted chip over Crepeau in stoppage time.
Argentina 'keeper Emiliano Martinez, sporting an Argentina flag dyed into the side of his hair, was called into action in the dying seconds of the half after Jonathan David got to an Alistair Johnston long throw-in, poking the ball toward goal from close range.
For the second consecutive game, Argentina kept Canada waiting for the start of the second half. With Canada down 2-0, Crepeau was again called upon to stop Alvarez.
Ali Ahmed, Liam Millar, Tani Oluwaseyi, Mathieu Choiniere and Osorio all started for Canada in the second half. The substitutes helped drive the offense as Canada threatened the South Americans as time expired.
Oluwaseyi had two good chances in the final minutes, with Martínez managing to propel the first shot with his body in the 89th minute. The substitute Canadian's header then went wide.
Argentina reached the semifinals having lost just once in 18 matches (16-1-1) since defeating France on penalties in the World Cup final in December 2022.The only loss in that streak was a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in World Cup qualifying in November. And that tie turned into a penalty shootout victory over No.30 Ecuador last time out.
That didn't stop Canadian rapper Drake from placing a $300,000 bet on Canada to win, a wager that paid him back $2.88 million if successful. Drake posted the bet slip online, as he usually does with his bets.
After losing to Argentina in their first game of the tournament, Canada defeated No.31 Peru 1-0 and drew No.40 Chile 0-0 to finish second in Group A behind the Argentines. The Canadians then beat No.54 Venezuela on penalties in the quarterfinals.
Argentina is aiming for its third major title after the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 World Cup. The Argentines are tied with Uruguay for the most Copa América titles with 15.
[attachment deleted by admin]