Canada Braces For Toughest Challenge Against Argentina In Copa America Semi-Final

Canada must deliver an exceptional performance to have any chance of defeating Argentina and advancing to the Copa America final, acknowledges Jesse Marsch. His team will face the World Cup winners at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, following their penalty shoot-out victory over Venezuela in the quarter-finals.

Canada is only the fourth CONCACAF team to reach the Copa semi-finals and the third to do so on their debut. They follow Mexico (1993 runners-up), Honduras (third in 2001), and the United States (third in 1995). However, they face a formidable challenge next, having already lost to Argentina in their opening group-stage game.

In that match, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scored as Lionel Scaloni's team won 2-0 in Atlanta. Argentina had 19 shots worth 3.02 expected goals (xG) compared to Canada’s 10 shots with 1.16 xG. Despite this, Canada has impressed many on their journey to the semi-finals.

Argentina: Alexis Mac Allister

Mac Allister assisted Lisandro Martinez's opener against Ecuador in the quarter-finals and scored in the shoot-out after a 1-1 draw. The Liverpool midfielder has two assists this tournament. Since data collection began in 2011, only Lionel Messi has provided three or more assists for Argentina at a single Copa America edition.

Canada: Maxime Crepeau

Crepeau made six saves in Canada's opener against Argentina and has been outstanding throughout the tournament. He conceded three goals from 4.95 expected goals on target (xGoT) faced. Only Claudio Bravo and Rafael Romo have outperformed him in goalkeeping statistics by a greater margin.

Marsch's Perspective

Marsch understands that Canada needs to elevate their game further on Tuesday. "Argentina will have to be the best match we've ever played and it still might not be enough," he said. "But whatever. We're going to go for it." Captain Alphonso Davies echoed these sentiments but noted that Canada gave Argentina a tough game earlier.

"It's going to take everything," Davies said. "We played them in the group stage and we played well but didn't get the win we wanted."

The Pitch Factor

Argentina's coach Scaloni criticised the pitch quality after their earlier meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Messi also commenting on its impact throughout the tournament. "The pitch always has an influence," Messi told reporters, as quoted by The Athletic.

"I think the best one was the one in Miami, which was good from what you saw from the outside at least," Messi added. "It's natural and that's already different."

Match Prediction: Argentina Win

Argentina has reached seven of their last eight major tournament semi-finals, with only the 2018 World Cup being an exception. They have won their last ten matches against CONCACAF opponents without conceding a goal in any of their last six such games.

The defending champions have reached five of the last seven Copa America semi-finals, failing to make it to the final only twice—Colombia in 2004 and Chile in 2019. This will be Argentina’s fifth time facing the same opponents twice at a single Copa America edition since 1993.

Opta Win Probability

The Opta supercomputer assigns Argentina an 84% chance of reaching the final, with Canada aiming for one of the greatest upsets in Copa America history.