Argentina looked shaky for long stretches of the 2024 Copa America opener. The defending South American and world champions struggled at times against Canada, who played fluidly and dynamically. soccerbut it was also very loose football: at half-time they could have easily lost.
But four minutes into an action-packed second half, Lionel Messi denied a Canadian shot with a pass that was either clever or accidental.
Did he see Alexis Mac Allister and assist the midfielder’s run? Or did he look for Julián Alvarez’s feet before Alvarez made a run somewhere? The answer hardly matters. All that matters is the conclusion: Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau ran into Mac Allister, who had caught Messi’s pass. A foul on Crepeau should have earned a penalty, but Alvarez made it unnecessary.
With just a few minutes left, Messi again put Canada off the pace, before Lautaro Martinez scored to give Argentina a breather.
Martinez’s 88th-minute goal gave Argentina a 2-0 victory in Thursday’s opener, but that goal and a string of missed chances in the second half overshadowed a deeply flawed performance.
In the end, Argentina deserved to win. Messi and the team were well on their way to the knockout stages of the tournament after just one night. But they owed a lot to Canada’s mistakes and good fortune. It was clear after the first leg that they were not yet in top gear.
So if they are to defend the title they won in Brazil three years ago, they must make sure they improve, they must prove that the core of their squad is still intact.
You can recap Thursday’s match below.
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Final: Argentina 2-0 Canada
The reigning champions sit at the top of Group A with three points!
With a brilliant assist from Messi, Martinez puts Argentina up 2-0!
Canada substitutions for the last 10 minutes or so of the game: Richie Larrier for Cyre Larin, Jacen Russell-Rowe for Liam Miller, Jonathan Osorio for Ismael Koné.
Bonvito’s sliding tackle left Messi writhing in pain on the field, but after a brief hiatus from playing, he got up and resumed playing.
We had a lot of chances, but it was still 1-0 — somehow.
Lionel Messi collapsed after missing his latest chance.
Canadian centre-back Moise Bonvito went in to tackle Messi and caught him hard around the ankle.
Messi gets up but limps. He will probably stay in the game but it will hurt. It was scary.
Messi had another one-on-one chance but once again missed the target.
Argentina’s second and third substitutions saw Nicolas Otamendi come on for Leandro Paredes and Lautaro Martinez come on for Julián Alvarez, while Canada’s Jacob Schaffelberg came on for Tajon Buchanan.
Canada cries out for a penalty…
Jacob Schaffelburg evaded Argentina’s defenders and made a run for goal, but was brought down.
The referee appeared to have the whistle half-way to his mouth, but didn’t hit it until the end.
Replay: It was definitely a foul, but maybe just It was outside the box so VAR couldn’t do anything.
Scaloni made his first substitution for Argentina, bringing on Giovani Lo Celso for Angel Di María.
There are opportunities on both ends!
Remember when Pele would wow the crowds at the World Cup even when he missed shots? Messi did the same thing, staggering past two Canadian players on the break and nearly scooping the ball into the gaping goal, only for his deft shot to be blocked.
Meanwhile, Jonathan David sent a header several yards high and wide.
It’s still 1-0 Argentina.
The Messi magic continues…
Di Maria was a little late here.
On Argentina’s goal: Messi magic or a bit of luck?
To the untrained eye, Argentina’s goal looked like yet another example of Lionel Messi’s greatness: his through pass to Alexis McAllister was something no one else on the field could see.
But I don’t know if Messi saw it either.
He looked to be aiming for the feet of Julián Alvarez, but Alvarez made an angled run and Messi’s pass went into empty space – where Mac Allister just happened to be running in.
*Whisper*
I don’t think that’s what Messi intended.
He was looking for the feet of Julian Alvarez, who made another run, and Mac Allister happened to be running into the space where the pass went. pic.twitter.com/5S95v4gUXA
