Argentina see off Canada to reach Copa America final

Argentina, the reigning world champions, defeated Canada 2-0 on Tuesday and advanced to the Copa America final, where they will attempt to win a third consecutive major championship, thanks in large part to Lionel Messi's accurate shooting.

In what promises to be an exciting final on Sunday in Miami, the defending Copa champions will take against the winners of Uruguay vs. Colombia on Wednesday.

In front of a packed house at the 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium, the 15-time Copa champs put on their best show of the competition, and much like their 2022 World Cup victory, they appear to be peaking at the ideal time.

"The reality is that the Argentina national team has been doing some really amazing things," Messi said to TyC Sports following his first tournament goal.

It's difficult for us to compete and make it to the finals once more in order to win. I'm experiencing it as though it were the final World Cup and Copa America."I'm having the best time during these final battles," the 37-year-old remarked.

While Canada deserves a lot of respect for their performance in the tournament and for surprising many by making it to the last four in their maiden Copa America appearance, Messi and company were just too much.

Midway during the first half, American coach Marsch of Canada claimed he saw his players appeared exhausted. "I think the tournament caught up with us a little bit," Marsch said.

He said, "Physician fatigue and physicality can eventually catch up with you, and that was a big part of what happened with us tonight."
Marsch's squad had advanced by playing high-octane football right from the start, but the South Americans never let up after left-winger Jacob Shaffelburg had an early chance to score after cutting in from the flank and missing.

The seasoned wide player Angel Di Maria, who was competing in his final tournament for his nation, was seeing a lot of ball down the right and he provided an early warning of his threat when he picked out Messi with a ball inside which the forward flashed just wide of the post.

But it was Rodrigo De Paul who was to create the breakthrough in the 22nd minute, picking the ball up on the halfway line, taking a quick glance up and then lofting the ball over the top to Julian Alvarez.
The attacker for Manchester City, who was brought back into the starting lineup ahead of Lautaro Martinez, outmaneured Moises Bombito with a clever first touch, giving him ample space to finish the goal.
- Elegant triangle

Canada's back line was constantly in danger from the sophisticated triangle of Di Maria, Messi, and De Paul. The former even threatened a second with a chip that flew over the bar from the right.

Argentina's confident build-up play is a reflection of coach Lionel Scaloni's team, which is a well-drilled outfit that never lets its organisational rigour overpower its inventiveness.

Messi received a slide-rule pass from former Real Madrid winger Di Maria two minutes before halftime. Messi found space for a right-footed effort, but it went just wide of Max Crepeau's right-hand post.

Any strategy was rendered useless when the world champions doubled their lead just six minutes after the restart, leaving Canada's American coach Marsch with a lot of work to do at the half to get his team back on level terms.

The outstanding De Paul drew the ball back from the byline to Enzo Fernandez, whose side-footed effort was headed in front of goal by Messi.

Canada briefly believed that Messi might have been offside but the VAR review showed that defender Derek Cornelius had played him onside.
Argentina was happy to sit back, conserve energy, and invite the Canadians to challenge them after establishing a two-goal buffer.

However, Canada were not able to test Emiliano Martinez until the very end, when Tani Oluwaseyi, a substitute, forced the custodian to make a save following some careless play.
However, Scaloni's team won easily, and they are now just one victory away from achieving a record 16 Copa America victories.