Goals from Messi and Alvarez put the world champions and Copa América holders through to Sunday’s final in Miami.
Defending champions Argentina booked their place in the Copa América final after goals from Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi gave them a 2-0 victory over Canada.
Argentina will face Uruguay or Colombia in Sunday’s final in Florida, a match that could represent the last chance at the title for several members of the senior squad, including Messi, Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi.
“Let’s take advantage of what we are experiencing as a team, as a group. It’s not easy to be in a final again, to compete again to be champion,” said Messi after Tuesday’s semifinal in New Jersey.
“I’m living like I’ve been living everything lately: enjoying it a lot and knowing, as with Fideo (Di Maria) and Ota (Otamendi), that these are the last battles.”
ARGENTINA WINS AND ADVANCES TO THE FINAL pic.twitter.com/gpqtpwu0oO
— CONMEBOL Copa América ENG (@copaamerica_ENG) July 10, 2024
Argentina have won a joint-record 15 World Cup titles and have reached the final six times in the last eight editions, but Canada caused real problems in the first 20 minutes, with Jacob Shaffelburg twice shooting wide from promising positions.
After absorbing the early pressure, however, Argentina took the lead when Rodrigo De Paul passed Alvarez, who positioned himself between two defenders to score with a neat finish in the 22nd minute.
Argentina, winners of the 2022 World Cup and number one in the FIFA rankings, gradually took control and Messi had the chance to double their lead in the 44th minute when he created space in the box with some smooth footwork before shooting into the area. side.
Canada almost grabbed an equalizer against the run of play in first-half stoppage time when Jonathan David sneaked in front of his marker to finish a long ball, but his shot from close range was hit straight at goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Messi had battled a muscle injury earlier in the tournament but looked revitalized on a hot, humid night at MetLife Stadium.
He scored Argentina’s second goal in the 51st minute, stretching his boot to deflect Enzo Fernandez’s shot from the edge of the box past Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
The goal took Messi to fifth place in the all-time Copa América top scorers table, tied with Peru’s Paolo Guerrero and Chile’s Eduardo Vargas on 14.
His 109th goal for Argentina also took him past Iran’s Ali Daei into second place in the all-time international goalscoring charts. Messi is behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 130 goals for Portugal.
Despite a two-goal lead, Argentina had a nervy end to the match when Canadian substitute Tani Oluwaseyi tested Martinez with an accurate shot in the 89th minute before heading wide a minute later.
For Canada, the defeat ends a remarkable run in which it has defied expectations and performed better than top-ranked CONCACAF rivals Mexico and the United States, its 2026 World Cup co-hosts.
“They are the best team in the world, but at the same time we had our chances at the beginning of the game,” midfielder Stephen Eustaquio told Canadian broadcaster TSN.
“If we had scored one of our chances, the story of the game would probably have been different. Getting this far, in the semi-finals of the Copa América, is a great achievement.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
