Canada will play in unfamiliar territory. But against a familiar opponent.
They meet Lionel Messi and Argentina in the 2024 Copa America semifinals at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The semifinal will be a replay of the tournament’s first game. In this, Canada lost 2-0 to defending Copa America and FIFA World Cup champion Argentina.
Canada keep Messi off the scoresheet in their Group A opening. But he assisted both of Argentina’s goals, including the game-winning goal by Lautaro Martínez.
Head coach of Canada Jesse Marsch is certain his team will be prepared for their rematch with the all-time great.
“Playing against a guy such as him is always an honor. And our players are ready for the challenge,” stated Marsch. We’ll see if we can do somewhat better than we did in the previous game. Because they will be enthusiastic and because it will be a difficult task.
Regarding how precisely Canada would try to improve their performance against the No. 10 team in Argentina and the rest of FIFA’s top-ranked squad, Marsch was unwilling to divulge his strategies before to the match.
“We need to be extremely good, but I don’t want to dig too much into our match strategy,” Marsch stated. “We must ensure that we occupy less space with the ball. Must be active, self-assured, and make use of our strength and speed.”
Both Canada and Argentina advanced to the semifinals via quarterfinal wins in penalty shootouts in matches they were leading at the half.
In the thirteenth minute of Canada’s opening tournament knockout round match against Venezuela, Jacob Shaffelburg gave his team a 1-0 lead. After scoring a touchdown from Jonathan David, he celebrated by waving his wounded teammate Tajon Buchanan’s shirt. Who underwent surgery earlier in the week after a broken tibia in training.
In the 64th minute, Salomon Rondon tied the score, forcing a penalty kick to settle the closely contested match.
Captain Alphonso Davies’ conversion put Canada ahead in the shootout and forced sudden death penalty kicks. Maxime Crépeau, the goalkeeper, then denied Venezuelan defender Wilker Angel. And Ismaël Koné scored the game-winning goal with precision, sending Canada into the semifinals.
All-time top scorer Cyle Larin believes the team has always desired to be on this stage. Competing against the best in the world. So his amazement at the poise the Canadian players displayed in winning their first-ever Copa America shootout was understandable.
As we’ve known each other for a long time and have always desired to play against the finest players in the world and at the highest level of competition, Larin added, “we get eager to participate in games like these and even the prior games we’ve played.” “We’re a really composed team, and we play to our strengths and skills, which is helping us win this tournament.”
Following their loss of a stoppage time marker to Ecuador’s Kevin Rodríguez, Argentina also required spot kicks to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal.
After Alexis Mac Allister flicked a Messi corner on to him, defender Lisandro Martínez headed home the goal to give Argentina a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute.
Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni thinks his squad will need to prepare for Canada’s tough style, which has been a recurring theme against all of their opponents as they have advanced through Copa America. Argentina and Canada will face each other twice in the tournament.
According to Scaloni, “They have guys that are fairly prominent in that aspect and they are also technically competent.” They are a really excellent squad that has made it difficult for everyone. Their coach has communicated a very aggressive game plan; they apply pressure, compel you to play down the sides, and have some quite fascinating individuals. We intend to attempt to establish the approach on Tuesday, and in terms of physical prowess, we anticipate being able to employ every available weapon.
Regarding Canada’s strategy against the world’s best team, its head coach says they won’t be playing for a second straight shootout but rather attempting to win the match.
Marsch remarked, “We don’t want to play for penalties.” “We’re going to go play in our favorite manner. The main goal is to utilize it as a chance to perform to the greatest of our abilities. And what a fantastic chance it is to do so.
Argentina is attempting to win their 16th Copa America championship in order to break a tie with Uruguay for the most titles won throughout the competition’s history.
In its first tournament ever, Canada is attempting to win the Copa America.
At Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday, the winner of this game will play the victor of Uruguay vs. Colombia in the second semifinal.
At Charlotte, North Carolina’s Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, the two losing clubs will square off in the third-place match.
