Follow live reaction to Argentina’s Copa America win over Canada thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez
Michael Dominski
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Result: Argentina 2-0 Canada
- Argentina beat Canada 2-0 at the Copa America
- Julian Alvarez scored the opening goal of the game
- Lionel Messi missed a number of chances, suffers injury scare
- Lautaro Martinez scored a late second goal to make sure of win
Peru and Chile get underway tomorrow
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With Argentina beating Canada in the opening match of the 2024 Copa America, let's take a look at the remaining fixtures in Group A.
Friday
- Peru vs Chile in Arlington, Texas
Tuesday
- Peru vs Canada in Kansas City, Kansas
- Chile vs Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Saturday June 29
- Argentina vs Peru in Miami Gardens, Florida
- Canada vs Chile in Orlando, Florida
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Marsch calls for Argentina fine for second-half delay
After the match, Jesse Marsch spoke about Argentina's significant delay in returning to the field for the start of the second half: "When they were waiting, I knew that they were looking at video and they were analyzing how they wanted to play against us. Now, I wish again, the referees would manage that. If we were five minutes late, we'd get a fine. There'd be a big problem.
"Let's see what happens with Argentina. I think they have to be fined. How late were they? You guys? 20 minutes? 30? I don't know. It was a long time. But they had that time to prepare how they wanted to play against us in the second half, which if we would have known ahead of time that we could have an extra 10 minutes then we could have prepared some things more. But in the end, I just made sure that the players knew that they were going to come out with a new plan and they basically rotated a little bit more to three, but we still dealt with it."
Marsch then joked with reporters in the press conference: "Argentina should be fined. OK? Fined. Write that. Olé. La Nacion," Marsch said, a wide grin on his face. "They should be fined for coming out 20 minutes late for the second half."
'Fearless performance from Canada'
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Canada supporters have been praising the performance of their team on our discussion page.
Artem K.: I don't think I remember a more fearless performance from Canada. It's fun to watch, but a lot of work for our goalie who has been on fire today.
Dom M.: Canada really coming on strong. A very good showing by Canada considering they are facing the world’s number one team. Canada should be proud of this effort no matter the outcome.
Simar: Shaffelburg really impressed me, plays with no fear, takes people on, it's exactly what we need but the whole team is missing the finishing needed to win these types of games. Lots of positives but we neeeeed our first goal under Marsch soon.
Simar makes a good point, as Canada have been outscored 6-0 in their three games under Marsch so far...
Hello this is Lionel, how may I assist you?
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Lionel Messi's first career assist at the Copa America came in 2011. Since then, he has racked up 17 total assists in the competition while no other player has registered more than five!
His Argentina teammate Angel Di Maria and Alexis Sanchez are the two players to record five Copa America assists in that time.
Alvarez: We deserved this
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Julián Álvarez: "It was important to win because it was the first game. The team deserved it, we had been working very well during the week."
Emi Martinez: Argentina fight to the fullest
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Emiliano Martínez spoke about his teammates after the match: "We are going to create chances and score goals. We know we have a team with tremendous talent. It is a team that fights to the fullest."
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Lisandro Martinez: 'A very tough match for us'
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Lisandro Martínez also spoke after Argentina's win: "It was a very tough match for us. The important thing is that everyone who comes in can perform at their best."
Messi calls match tough, physical and complicated
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Speaking after full time, Lionel Messi spoke about his side's performance: "We knew it was going to be a tough match, very physical. In the first half there was little space. Luckily we found the goal quickly in the second half, but even so it was complicated.
"We have the patience to have the ball, to move it from one side to the other. Most opponents play differently against us, we have to keep control."
Lautaro!
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You think Lautaro Martinez was pumped up to score?!
Instant reaction to Argentina's win
Paul Tenorio, Felipe Cardenas and Joshua Kloke have been kind enough to bring us instant reaction of Argentina's win, delving into Argentina's potential halftime mind games, Canada's first-half chances and Maxime Crepeau's performance in Canada's goal.
Follow the link below to check out their talking points!
Messi loves playing in the US
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With his assist on Lautaro Martinez's goal in the 88th minute, Lionel Messi has now contributed to 50 goals (30 goals, 20 assists) in 34 competitive matches for club and country in the United States.
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Canada created plenty of chances
Classic Argentina, kind of. Lionel Scaloni’s side have now won six of their seven competitive games since lifting the World Cup: 1-0, 3-0, 1-0, 2-0, 1-0 and 2-0 – but this was far from a total defensive shutout.
Canada had their moments, Jonathan David and Stephen Eustaquio both squandering headed opportunities from close range, while their total of nine shots on goal are the most that Argentina have faced in 15 games.
The defending champions will take the result, and the debutants will probably take the performance.
Davies gets Messi's shirt
The FS1 broadcast shows Alphonso Davies was the lucky player to swap shirts with Messi after the match. Neither team captain will be thrilled with their individual performance on the night, but at least they’ll have a memento of their night together in Atlanta.
FT: Argentina 2-0 Canada
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Messi has a late chance on a free kick near Canada's box but Crepeau makes a simple save.
The whistle blows for full time and that's it for the opening match of the 2024 Copa America!
Cornelius booked
90+4' Argentina 2-0 Canada
Cornelius takes out Messi with a late sliding tackle and is the latest player to be shown a yellow card.
Why Messi is still in this match after suffering that injury scare is anybody's guess.
Argentina pushing for third goal
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90+3' Argentina 2-0 Canada
Argentina are continuing to attack here and nearly score a third as a shot carroms off two Canada players and rolls just wide of the goal.
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Five minutes added on
90+1' Argentina 2-0 Canada
Lo Celso slides through Davies and earns himself a booking.
We're into five minutes of stoppage time here.
Julian vs Lautaro
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90' Argentina 2-0 Canada
Lautaro Martinez was a surprise omission from today’s lineup, with Julian Alvarez the preferred man up top. The two strikers are now this tournament’s first pair of goalscorers — suppose we’ve got a position battle on our hands for the next few games!
Final Argentina subs
89' Argentina 2-0 Canada
Nahuel Molina and Marcos Acuna are replaced by Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolás Tagliafico.
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