06/21/2024 4:56 p.m.
Argentina is one of the great candidates to win the 2024 Copa América and this Thursday they started with a good victory against Canada. The team led by Lionel Scaloni beat the Canadian team 2-0 and he had several very good stretches of the game. And although it took a while to finish the match, there was broad dominance in the statistics. Next, At Olé we show you the most relevant Opta data and numbers.
The Albiceleste was obliged to meet expectations and did so against a tough team like Canada. They won 2-0 but could have scored more goals, since Throughout the match he had 19 shots. AND 9 of those shots were between the three sticksthe most for the Albiceleste since at least 2013, along with two friendly matches against Guatemala (3-0 in 2018) and Curacao (7-0 in 2023).
A victory that is not only due to the multiple goal situations, but also to the great difference in ball possession: It was 64.5% against 35.5% for Argentina. Furthermore, the three-time world champion had a 90.6% effectiveness in passes (606). And the playing field was not to the liking of the coaching staff and the players.
Domain in possession. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
In the first half, Messi and company were unable to open the scoring, but a few minutes into the match they gained the advantage: Julian Alvarez He pushed it to make it 1-0. Coincidentally, the Argentine striker, who usually moves throughout the attack front, He was the footballer who touched the ball the least in Argentina (26 touches). Furthermore, excluding Tajon Buchanan (17 touches), he was, along with Cyle Larin, the player who made the fewest touches during the game (of the 22 that started from the start).
Christian Romerodefender of Argentina, was the one who interacted with the ball the most times: 108 touches. On the other hand, Lionel Messi was one of the great figures of the duel. He assisted Lautaro Martínez in the 2-0 and reached 17 assists for CONMEBOL Copa América. The first was in the 2011 edition, since then, he has more than triple the number of assists in the competition than any other player (Ángel Di María and Alexis Sánchez, with five).
Assisted by Lionel. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Besides, He became the first footballer to participate in 35 CONMEBOL Copa América matchessurpassing the mark of 34 matches that Sergio Roberto Livingstone had established with Chile in 1953. The Argentine has a record of 22 wins, 10 draws and three losses.
The flea He was the one who finished the most times in the game (six) and the one who left his teammates in front of the auction the most times (five). In turn, the Inter Miami man made seven passes that broke the last defensive line against Canada, more than double of any other player in the opening match of the CONMEBOL Copa América.
