Argentina Kicks Off Copa America With A Win Against Canada: Alvarez And Martinez Score

Copa America holders Argentina began their 2024 campaign with a 2-0 victory over Canada, thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez. The 2022 World Cup winners faced a challenging match against Jesse Marsch's debutants, who missed key opportunities through Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.

On the day he became the Copa's leading appearance-maker, Lionel Messi played a crucial role in both goals. His pass split the Canadian defence for Alvarez's opener, and he assisted Martinez's late goal. Despite missing two chances himself, Messi's contributions ensured Argentina started with three points.

Argentina will next face Chile on Tuesday, while Canada aims to recover against Peru. Canada's aggressive approach left them vulnerable early on, with Leandro Paredes and Alvarez both coming close to scoring. Despite Argentina's dominance in possession, Canada nearly took the lead before half-time, but Emiliano Martinez made a crucial save.

Messi's pinpoint throughball found Alexis Mac Allister early in the second half, leading to Alvarez's goal after Crepeau fouled Mac Allister. Messi missed another chance at 65 minutes, but continued to create opportunities. Canada's Jonathan David missed a header from Jacob Shaffelburg's cross, keeping the scoreline tight.

Messi eventually assisted Martinez for Argentina's second goal two minutes from time. This assist marked Messi's 50th goal contribution (30 goals, 20 assists) in 33 competitive matches for club and country in the United States.

Canada Shows Promise Despite Defeat

Canada became the 20th nation to participate in the Copa America and showed promise despite the loss. At half-time, they matched Argentina's seven shots and had a higher expected goals (xG) rate of 0.73 compared to Argentina's 0.56. However, Alvarez's goal early in the second half was a setback they couldn't overcome.

The Opta supercomputer had given Canada just a 27 per cent chance of advancing from Group A before the match. While this result doesn't improve their odds, their performance offers hope for upcoming matches against Peru and Chile.