Canada shows incredible fight against Messi, Argentina in Copa America debut
Canada might still be miles away from winning the FIFA World Cup, but they put up one of their most memorable performances ever against defending world champions Argentina on Thursday night.
But unfortunately for the Canadians, the dream result was not to be, with Canada falling 2-0 to Argentina in the opening match of the 2024 edition of Copa America.
Canada actually took Argentina into halftime scoreless, some 11 days after drawing France 0-0 in Bordeaux.
But Manchester City forward Julián Álvarez broke the deadlock just four minutes into the second half, giving the Argentines a lead they would not relinquish.
ARGENTINA GETS ON THE BOARD!
Julián Álvarez gets past Maxime Crépeau for the opening goal. #CA2024 pic.twitter.com/giiQTjGFM2
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 21, 2024
Lautaro Martinez then added the second goal of the evening to double Argentina’s lead to two in the game’s closing moments.
ARGENTINA EXTENDS THEIR LEAD!
Lautaro Martínez makes it a 2-0 game with 2 minutes left to play. #CA2024 pic.twitter.com/eh3DkeM9qN
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 21, 2024
Cyle Larin had a chance in the 74th minute for Canada off a feed from Alistair Johnston while the score was 1-0, but was unable to convert the opportunity.
Cycle Larin gets a good look but Martinez is there! #CA2024 pic.twitter.com/s7I8vXCJIY
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 21, 2024
Interestingly, Lionel Messi, the 2023 winner of the Ballon D’or for the top male player on the planet, was held scoreless on the evening despite several chances of his own.
The game was played at a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, with thousands of fans making the trek down from both host countries.
It’s Canada’s first ever appearance at Copa America, a tournament that originally was for South American squads only before eventually allowing North and Central American invites as well as the odd wild card invite. And it couldn’t have been a more daunting opponent for the Canadians in their debut match, with Argentina winning it all on 15 ocasssions, as well as the most recent edition in 2021.
Canada will be in tough to qualify out of Group A, likely needing results in each of their next two matches in order to advance to the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament.
Canada returns to action on Tuesday night against Peru, when they face them at 3 pm PT/ 6 pm ET. They’ll complete their group stage schedule on Saturday, June 29 when they face off against Chile at 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET.
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