Jakarta (ANTARA) – Two goals scored by Julian Alvarez (48′) and Lautaro Martinez (88′) allowed the Argentina national team to open the Copa America 2024 for the United States with a 2-0 victory over Canada at Mercedez-Benz Stadium, Georgia, Friday WIB.
In the Group A opener, reigning Copa America champions Argentina took the initiative early on, starting with a long-range shot from Leandro Paredes in the fourth minute that again went narrowly over the crossbar.
The Albiceleste tried to open the scoring again in the first half, to be precise in the 38th minute thanks to Alexis Mac Allister.
Liverpool’s creative midfielder stabbed into the box to meet Rodrigo de Paul’s pass. However, unfortunately his header was weak and easily caught by Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
Canada, which lost control of the ball, stole a chance in the final minutes of the first half. In the 42nd minute, Stephen Eustaquio stole the chance to score when he was free to head the ball.
Unfortunately, the FC Porto player’s header was brilliantly blocked by Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. The score ended 0-0 after the first 45 minutes.
At the start of the second half, Argentina immediately stepped on the accelerator and three minutes and 45 minutes later they were finally able to take the lead.
Starting from Lionel Messi’s beautiful pass, Mac Allister welcomed the pass from the Inter Miami player. However, as his position to score a goal was not ideal as he was too close to the goalkeeper, Mac Allister chose to pass the ball to Julian Alvarez who was nearby.
Alvarez, who received the ball from Mac Allister, had no trouble scoring an empty-net goal. Argentina leads Canada 1-0.
A minute after the goal, Alvarez had another chance. In a difficult position, he was still able to take a precise kick, but Crépeau still failed.
Argentina continues to look for a second goal to “kill the game”. However, the chances obtained have still failed, such as Messi’s golden one that could not be completed correctly in the one-on-one with Crépeau in the 79th minute.
Finally, the goal Argentina had been waiting for came courtesy of substitute Lautaro Martinez. Thanks to a nice pass from Messi, the Inter Milan captain calmly beat Crépeau for the second time in the 88th minute.
The score became 2-0 and is the final score of the match. Argentina, the defending champion and the most successful team with 15 titles, opened the 2024 Copa America with a victory.
The three points put Argentina top of Group A with three points, ahead of Peru and Chile who have yet to play, and last-placed Canada.
The 2022 World Cup winners will face Chile in the second match of Group A at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, on Wednesday (26/6) at 08:00 WIB.
Here is the composition of the two teams:
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo de Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Max Allister, Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez
Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Canada: Maxime Crépeau, Alistair Johnston, Moise Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan, Ismael Kone, Stephen Eustaquio, Liam Millar, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin
Coach: Jesse March.
This news was published on Antaranews.com with the title: Alvarez and Lautaro as Argentina open Copa America with three points
“Thinker. Hardcore web aficionado. Zombie evangelist. Pop culture trailblazer. Student. Passionate twitter maven.”
