What an evening on the MetLife Stadium! Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi have been the celebrities as Argentina glided into the Copa America closing with a easy 2-0 win over Canada. It was a match the place the stakes have been sky-high, and boy, did it ship!
Canada kicked issues off with a bang, catching Argentina off guard. Jacob Shaffelburg acquired a crack on the aim not as soon as, however twice, although he couldn’t fairly make it depend. Messi, seemingly simply warming up, missed a shot from afar as the primary ten minutes ticked by.
The sport actually sprang to life when Rodrigo De Paul, discovering some room, teed up Alvarez who gracefully nudged the ball previous Maxime Crepeau. That aim not solely opened the scoring however appeared to tighten Argentina’s maintain on the sport. Earlier than we knew it, Angel Di Maria nearly capitalized on a uncommon slip-up from Alphonso Davies, with Messi near doubling the lead simply earlier than the break.
The second half noticed Messi do what Messi does greatest—discovering the web for his 109th worldwide aim, a magnificence confirmed after a nail-biting VAR verify. Alvarez practically bagged one other, stymied solely by Crepeau’s fast reflexes. Regardless of shedding their captain Davies to an damage, Canada didn’t again down, with Tani Oluwaseyi practically heading one in late within the recreation.
Alvarez? Effectively, he’s confirmed he’s not only a membership hero however a serious participant on the worldwide stage too, matching strides with soccer legends in semi-final scoring.
Whereas Messi’s magical run on the worldwide discipline is likely to be winding down, he’s not out of surprises but, marking his thirty eighth totally different nationwide staff aim in opposition to. As for Canada, their dream run is likely to be over, however Jesse Marsch has laid a strong basis for future battles, eyeing the 2026 World Cup.
