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The reigning Copa America champions got off to a perfect start in defence of their title with a victory over Canada
Argentine legend Lionel Messi etched his name in the Copa America history as Argentina secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Canada in the opening match of this year’s edition.
Messi assisted Argentina’s second goal scored by Lautaro Martinez, who sealed the victory for the current World Champions after Julian Alvarez had given them the lead early in the second half.
How it happened
Argentina were on Canada from the get-go and created several openings to take the lead in the first half, with Angel Di Maria coming closest to scoring before seeing his one-on-one effort saved by Canada’s Maxime Crepeau.
With Argentina pressing for an opening goal, Canada went close to scoring first against the run of play as Stephen Eustaquio forced a good save from Emiliano Martinez who kept out a strong header to keep the scores level going into the half-time break.
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The Albiceleste corrected their mistakes from the first half early in the second period as Alvarez scored four minutes after the restart to claim the first goal of the 2024 Copa America.
Both teams traded chances to score as the second half progressed, with Messi fluffing two particularly good attempts to extend Argentina’s lead.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner made up for the misses with a brilliant assist to play in substitute Lautaro Martinez, who sealed the win with a calm finish.
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Messi’s assist was the 18th in Copa America tournaments, making him the player with the most assists in the competition’s history.
The win was the perfect way to start for Argentina, who hope to defend the Copa America crown they won in 2021.
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