ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Argentina managed to beat Canada in the opening match of Group A of the 2024 Copa America at the Marcedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States, Friday, June 21 2024. La Albiceleste won 2-0 thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez in the second half. second.
The match between the two teams was fierce. Canada immediately put pressure on Argentina’s defense when the match started. However, their attacks were still easily broken by Argentina’s defense.
Argentina actually got the first chance after 5 minutes of the match. Paredes’ hard shot from outside the penalty box still flew over the Canadian crossbar. Argentina almost broke through Canada’s goal again on two occasions, one of which was met by Angel Di Maria who was just facing the goalkeeper.
Moreover, their star Lionel Messi almost scored a goal, but his movement was judged by the linesman to be offside. La Albiceleste continued to attack Canada’s back line. Messi, who was the motor of the attack, gave a cross to the front of the Canadian goal, but the ball failed to meet his teammates. Canada almost opened the scoring in the 29th minute. When chaos occurred, Buchanan, who was standing free on the other side, shot off the mark. A few minutes later David got a chance, but his shot still hit the Argentinian defender.
Entering the final minutes of the first half it was Canada who dominated the game. In fact, they managed to create a golden opportunity in the 43rd minute. Eustaquio’s header in front of goal was still able to save goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Until the match was over, no goals had been scored. Argentina and Canada played quite cautiously at the start of the second half. Both teams still play more ball in the midfield. However, when the match entered the 49th minute, Argentina managed to break the deadlock. It started with Messi’s measured pass to Mac Allister who met the ball in front of the Canadian goal. Alister’s shot touched goalkeeper Crepeau and the wild ball was easily cleared by Alvarez.
This opening goal made the Argentine players even more enthusiastic about blocking the Canadian defense. Instead, his opponent tried to come back from behind.
In the 64th minute, Messi failed to maximize the golden opportunity to score a goal even though he was only facing the Canadian goalkeeper. The Argentine star’s shot still hit the opposing defender’s body. Canada still hasn’t given up and continues to block Argentina’s back line. They almost equalized the score if Larin’s shot couldn’t be saved by Martinez.
Messi again wasted a chance to score a goal even though he only had to pass the goalkeeper. Once again, the former Barcelona star’s shot went wide of the goal. Entering the final minutes of the second half, Argentina regained control of the game. Until finally before the end of the match, Argentina managed to increase the victory to 2-0 through Lautaro’s flick using Messi’s pass.
Lineup
Argentina (4-3-3): Emiliano Martinez; Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Acuna; Mac Allister, Paredes, De Paul; Messi, Gonzalez, Alvarez.
Coach: Lionel Scaloni.
Canada (4-4-2): Crepeau; Johnston, Bombito, Cornelius, Davies; Buchanan, Eustaquio, Kone, Millar; David, Larin.
Coach: Jesse Marsch. (ATN)
Follow Us at Google News and WA Channel
Discussion about this post