Copa America 2024 Recap: Argentina Battles Past Canada 2-0
The Canucks could only stand tall for so long.
Copa America 2024 kicked off in predictable but exciting fashion as Lionel Messi and Argentina had to fight slightly harder than expected to defeat Canada down in Georgia.
Former New England Revolution winger Tajon Buchanan started on the wing for Canada while former Seacoast United and University of New Hampshire defender Moise Bombito also made the starting XI.
Bombito and the rest of the Canadian back line was faced with a tough challenge, stop an attacking trio that consisted of Julian Alvarez, Angel Di Maria and Messi.
Jesse Marsch’s Canada deserves some credit as his side didn’t bunker down and try to simply eek out a draw. The Canucks nearly got punished as Argentina had a chance on the break but Maxime Crepeau made a superb save in the eighth minute to deny Di Maria an early goal.
Messi nearly worked his magic in the 17th minute, finding open space in the attacking box but failed to make the most of the chance as his shot was blocked.
Buchanan got gifted an opportunity in the 29th minute as a deflected pass found him in front of goal but the former Rev was unable to get a shot on goal nevertheless into the net.
Crepeau got called into action in the 39th minute as Argentina searched for a goal prior to the conclusion of the first 45 minutes. Alexis Mac Allister received a ball right in front of goal but his header was hit straight at the Canadian goalkeeper. Emi Martinez came up big in his own right in the 42nd minute as a point-blank save kept the score even.
But in the second half, Argentina was finally able to break through. Julian Alvarez scored on an open net after Mac Allister was wiped out by Crepeau in the 48th minute. A minute later Alvarez nearly doubled his tally but Crepeau dived and parried the shot away.
Marsch made his first change in the 59th minute as Buchanan was sent to the bench and was replaced by Jacob Shaffelburg.
In the 64th minute, Messi got given two opportunities to score as he went 1-v-1 with a Canadian defender and then Crepeau but failed to take advantage. Luckily for Canada, Derek Cornelius deflected the shot to safety. Argentina then made its first change in the 68th minute as Giovani Lo Celso replaced Di Maria.
After being subbed on, Shaffelburg nearly made an instant impact. In the 70th minute, he appeared to get fouled by Lisandro Martinez as the Argentine clobbered the Canadian but the referee thought otherwise even after video review.
Argentina made more changes as Nicolas Otamendi and Lautaro Martinez replaced Leandro Paredes and Alvarez in the 76th minute.
Messi got another chance to score a goal in the 80th minute but his chip went wide. Thursday’s performance was a rare night where he Inter Miami star lacked in the finishing department.
Messi made up for his misses by serving a beautiful cross to Otamendi in the 82nd minute but the defender failed to head the ball on target. A minute later Messi set up Martinez who had his shot saved by Crepeau. The goalkeeper was the man of the match in terms of Canadian players.
But finally, Argentina broke through to double its lead. This time the Messi-Martinez attacking duo was able to find the back of the net.
With the win, Argentina shoots up to the top of the table but Canada shouldn’t be too harsh on themselves. It was a positive effort but opponents can only do so much when going up against Messi and the strongest roster in all of the America’s.
Bombito should also be proud of himself. The former Seacoast United defender played the entire match and completed 90 percent of his passes. The center back also had 67 touches, four clearances, and three interceptions.
Argentina’s next match is against Chile on Tuesday while Canada faces Peru.