Hear
He suffered, but he won. The Argentine team debuted in the Copa América United States 2024 with a 2-0 victory over Canada in the opening match of the competition that corresponded to the first date of group A. The goals of the match that was played at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta were refereed by the Venezuelan Jesus Valenzuela they marked them Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martínezboth in the second half.
Since Lionel Scaloni He is the coach of the Albiceleste, it is the first time in four occasions that he has started a competition with a victory. In the 2019 Copa América he lost to Colombia 2 to 1; In 2021 he tied with Chile 1 to 1; and in the Qatar 2022 World Cup he fell to Saudi Arabia 2 to 1.
The first half was even, with the albiceleste dominating ball possession, but without fluidity with the ball to break down an opponent who reduced spaces as much as possible and established their line of defenders closer to the midfield than the goalkeeper. Maxime Crepeau. The only one that leaked, at the beginning of the meeting, was Angel Di Maria who ran with the ball dominated almost from his own field, but he arrived under pressure and the goalkeeper stopped his weak shot. That play was the clearest of the combined Lionel Scaloni because, later, they were more approximations than clear situations to score.
And he didn’t have a good time at all. An overflow to the left of Alphonso Davies which ended with a center back that no Canadian could connect was the first warning for the world champions. Right away, Emiliano Martínez cut him off Stephen Eustáquio a header from the door of the small area in which it was the clearest option for the North American team to take the lead in an attractive first 45 minutes for the public, but which left Scaloni satisfied.
Argentina opened the scoring as soon as the second half began with a great collective play on the right, which began with a lateral. Lionel Messiwho had not gravitated in the first half, gave a pass to Alexis Mac Allister one of those that only he usually sees, the midfielder arrived together with goalkeeper Crépeau and collided with him. The ball was served to Julian Alvarezwho finished before two rival defenders established themselves on the goal line and outlined the first smile of the defending champion in the Copa América 2024.
From that moment on, the Argentine team tried to beat Canada. Álvarez had another shot after a header from Messi and an opponent managed to deflect it into the corner while Di María tried from outside the area and the ball went over the crossbar. The pressure on the Americans was constant and caused errors that made it possible for them to attack with their rival unarmed, although the result was quickly reflected and the Canadians, when the shock was over, did not hesitate to go for equality.
By dint of corner kicks and overflows, especially from Davies, Canada put the albiceleste in trouble, who in between had the opportunity to increase the distance in Messi: the ‘Flea’ faced the goal paired with a defender after a serve (pass) by ‘Dibu’ Martínez, he finished and, on the rebound, tried to ‘poke it to Crépeau, but managed to slap the ball. Jonathan David He had an unbeatable situation with a header alone inches from the six-yard box and the ball went over the crossbar. The play came after a corner that crossed the entire area and Argentina could not clear it, like every time the ball came through the air near a very confident ‘Dibu’ Martínez.
Argentina almost did not attack and had a bad time because they lost the ball in the middle of the field and, furthermore, that sector did not contain the rival offensives. Between ‘Draw’ and Christian Romero They smothered a low cross from the right as it entered Cyle Larin to push the ball and that situation was what led the coach to introduce Nicolas Otamendi and put together a line of five defenders.
Unarmed to attack, Canada gave advantages at the back. Messi escaped one-on-one with the goalkeeper after a rejection by the defense, but again he tried to throw it over the top of the goalkeeper and, although this time he managed it, he did not hit the goal. The Argentine midfield, no longer Leandro Paredes As 5, he continued without making a footing and the American champion depended on counterattacks and individual actions. Lautaro Martínez, after Messi stole the ball from the North American defense when he was trying to come out from the back, he had another face to face with Crépeau and, even with time to decide what to do, he did not execute well and the goalkeeper contained his shot. Otamendi also had his own in a free kick that Messi sent into the area, but he tried to control the ball and when he shot, he already had the goalkeeper on top of him.
Only at 87′ did the Argentine team seal the victory. And he did it with a great goal. The world champion, still under pressure, did not raffle the ball and came out from the back with a pure pass. Between Marcos Acuña and Giovani Lo Celso They broke the rival midfield and when the ball reached the 10, he assisted Lautaro Martínez who only had to score the ball before Crépeau came out. History closed, with the warning that no match will be easy for the team that defends the crown it achieved in Brazil 2021.
The first date of zone A will be completed this Friday with the duel between Chile and Peru at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The second day, meanwhile, will be on Tuesday, June 25 and the albiceleste will meet with the trans-Andean team and the Canadians with the Inca.
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The Argentine team is the favorite for the title in the Copa América and its main opponents are Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. The albiceleste is, along with the Celeste, the one with the most titles in the continental competition with 15 Olympic laps. The Canarinha, for its part, has nine stars while the coffee team only one.
THE NATION
