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CNN Indonesia

Sunday, July 7, 2024 10:31 IWST

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

Canadian national team coach Jesse Marsch is happy his team can face it again Argentina in the semi-final Copa America 2024 at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, Wednesday (10/7) morning WIB.

Canada, who are the first team in the Copa America 2024, managed to qualify for the semi-finals after winning 4-3 on penalties against Venezuela after a 1-1 draw for 90 minutes.

Next, Canada has the opportunity to make history by qualifying for the 2024 Copa America final, but Alphonso Davies and his friends must be able to beat defending champions and favourites Argentina.

“We will face the best team in the world in the semi-finals. We are very happy about that. We have to play our best game against Argentina and that may not be enough,” Marsch was quoted as saying by AFP.

This is the second time Canada has faced Argentina at the 2024 Copa America. In the opening match on June 20, Canada was defeated by Lionel Messi and friends with a score of 0-2 thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.

Marsch said the Canadian national team’s play has improved a lot since losing to Argentina in the first game. The former Leeds United coach is more confident about Canada’s second chance against Argentina.

“We are very pleased with our progress to date and reserve the right to try again [lawan Argentina]. And we will treat it as such,” Marsch said.

“We’ll be positive. We’ll be aggressive. We’ll not sit back and just try to defend. We’ll try to play the way we play and then see if we can defend,” Marsch added.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan national team coach Fernando Batista remains satisfied with his team’s performance despite their elimination in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Copa America.

“I’m leaving angry about having lost on penalties, without losing a single match in 90 minutes. But I’m proud of my players, who put in an exceptional performance in the Copa America.”

“I’m not surprised by Canada because they were in a very difficult group, finishing ahead of Peru and Chile and they faced Argentina. It was football and a penalty that brought us home,” Batista said.

(har)