
2021 Champions, Argentina will seek a repeat championship on July 14 when they come up against either Colombia or Uruguay in the final of the 2024 Copa América tournament in the U.S.
Argentina defeated Canada 2-0 in the semis, with Messi scoring his 14th goal of his career and his first in this edition. In the previous five tournaments, Argentina has reached four finals.
Julián Álvarez opened the scoring before Messi sealed the win.
The first half between Canada and Argentina was equally exciting and chaotic. The ball was played very close to Emiliano Martnez’s goal, making the debuting team in this tournament more dangerous.
Notwithstanding, Jesse Marsch’s team didn’t show up with lucidity in those initial 20 minutes of slight predominance.
Julián Alvarez received the ball between the two central defenders, controlled it flawlessly, and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, a position in which the Manchester City forward rarely fails. From the center circle, Rodrigo de Paul clearly saw a pass into space.
Julián lvarez scored the opening goal for Scaloni’s team, just like he did in the 2022 World Cup Semifinal.
Argentina created good scoring opportunities and neutralized the Canadian attacks from that point on. Di Mara came very close to scoring a goal similar to his one against Brazil in the CONMEBOL Copa América 2021TM Final. Toward the end of the first half, Messi took action with a blast, and his shot went simply past the goalkeeper’s post.
Jonathan David had the final opportunity of the first half, to score Canada’s first goal but it went wide. Argentina led 1-0 at the half.
Lionel Messi came in from the right at the start of the second half, as he had done previously. He passed to Rodrigo de Paul inside the box, and after getting a rebound, Enzo Fernández shot at the goal.
It was deflected by Messi himself, and a video assistant referee (VAR) determined that Argentina had won 2-0. This was Messi’s 14th goal in his Copa América career and his first in this tournament.
After that, Argentina slowed the game down and refreshed the team by making substitutions. Di María additionally fell off, in one of his last counterparts for the public group.
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With two minutes left, Canada made good pressure on Argentina’s defense and had their best chance, but Tani Oluwaseyi’s shot was stopped by Dibu Martnez.
Argentina won 2-0, with head up into the final. They secured their fifth consecutive podium finish in the world’s oldest national team tournament: 2015 (final), 2016 (final), 2019 (third place), 2021 (champions), and it remains to be seen where they will finish in 2024.
Argentina will play the final of the tournament on July 14 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami against the winner of the Colombia-Uruguay match. Canada will play on July 13 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte against the loser of the aforementioned match.