Argentina will face a surprising opponent in Canada in the semi-final of Copa America 2024 after the two sides won their respective quarter-finals against tough opponents against decent opposition.
In the first round of eight games of the competition, defending champions and Group A winners Argentina took on the runner-up of Group B, Ecuador, in Houston’s NRG Stadium.
It was Argentina who scored the first goal, as in-form attacker Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring in the 35th minute. The Albeceleste then sat on their lead for almost the whole game.
Ecuador looked to get level for the whole game but failed to do it in 90 minutes. However, in the first minute of injury time, Kevin Rodriguez scored Ecuador’s first goal, as the score was level at 1-1.
With the teams at a standstill at the end of regulation time, the game went to penalties. In Copa America, there is no extra time in the quarterfinals or semi-finals; it’s not present even for the third-place playoff and will only be available in the final.
With that being the case, Argentina and Ecuador went to penalties. Opening the proceedings for the defending World Champions was captain Lionel Messi, who ended up missing his penalty. But that did not hurt his team much, as Angel Mena missed Ecuador’s first penalty as well.
While Julian Alvarez scored Argentina’s second, Alan Minda missed the second for his team. Alexis Mac Allister and John Yeboah scored the third for their respective sides, while Gonzalo Montiel and Jordy Caicedo scored the fourth.
With the game there to win, Nicolas Otamendi scored Argentina’s fifth penalty and sent the team to the semi-finals.
But who would the Lionel Messi-led team face in the semis—the winner of the quarterfinal between Group B winner Venezuela and Group A runner-up Canada?
The Canadians started the game in style, as winger Jacob Shaffelburg scored the first goal of the game in just the 13th minute.
The match went into half-time with Canada in the lead. However, that did not last long as Solomon Randon equalized for Venezuela in the 64th minute, and that is how the game ended.
In the penalties, both Rondon and Canada’s Jonathan David scored their shots. This was followed by Yangel Herrera and Liam Miller missing the second kick for their respective teams. Tomas Rincon and Moise Bombito scored the third for Venezuela and Canada, while Jefferson Savarino and Stephan Eustaquio missed the fourth. Jhonder Cadiz and Alphonso Davies scored the fifth as the shootout was extended to sudden death.
Taking Venezuela’s sixth penalty, Wilker Angel missed it. Stepping up to win the game for Canada, Ismael Kone scored to send his team to a semi-final date with Argentina.
Argentina To Face Canada In Copa America Semis
Argentina vs Canada in the semis will not be the first time these teams face this competition. Facing off in the first Group A game, Argentina won that game 2-0. This time, the two will face off at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for a place in the final.
Tonight, Columbia will take on Panama, and Uruguay will take on Brazil in the remaining semi-finals of Copa America 2024. This also means that Argentina and Brazil, two of the biggest football teams in the Americas, are on a collision course in the final.
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