PEOPLE NEWS – Has there ever been a bigger gap for a place in the Copa America final? Current world champions Argentina face Canada, a country that has only qualified for two World Cups and has never won or drawn in either event.
On paper, even David had more of an advantage against Goliath than the Canucks had against the mighty La Albiceleste of Lionel Messi and company, however, the game was not played out in the pages of the Bible, unfortunately Canada lost 2-0. It was a repeat of the scoreline from the opening game of the championship.
In a packed and decidedly pro-Argentinian stadium, it was the Met Life Stadium aka Messi Church, in New York, Canada, who seemed to have grown up over the last month and wore red, that dominated the opening ten minutes. With just 57 days on the job, their new coach Jessie Marsch has introduced a progressive, fast and difficult passing game that the world champions must adapt to.
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Jacob Shaffelburg, who plays for Nashville FC in MLS, had two good chances that perhaps should have tested Emiliano Martinez, but both went wide.
They say that if you don’t take advantage of your chances against the champion, he will make you pay and in the 23rd minute, Julian Alvarez conceded. The two Canadian central defenders fell asleep for a moment and Rodrigo De Paul delivered a beautiful pass to Alvarez whose first touch was sublime. His second touch was not bad either as he fired a shot through the legs of Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau to score his 9th international goal and give the Albiceleste a 1-0 lead.
Leading the first half and boasting the best defence in world football, Messi will begin to channel his inner Goliath. Every touch, shimmy, dummy, pass and shot will produce screams that rival the famous Beatles concerts of the 1960s at Shea Stadium, just 22 miles away.
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His confidence would be rewarded in the 51st minute. Canada failed to clear a corner and the ball found Enzo Fernandez at the top of the box. His shot wasn’t the best, but he managed to single-handedly reach the world’s tallest player over the top of the box. THE GOAT had just provided a deft finishing touch to his 109th international goal and Argentina could start to put in the minutes ahead of a match against Uruguay or Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, one of Messi’s homes.
To give Canada credit, they continued to dig deep, but both Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero at the heart of the Argentina back line refused to give up.
Marsch has assembled a good team that is confident on the ball and wants to go forward, but the lack of a finisher in the mould of Alvarez will hamper them. Yet in the world of Concacaf, Canada has every right to claim to be the best team in the region.
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The United States and Mexico will look north with envy and wonder how they managed to get into the hierarchy.
As for Argentina, they are in the midst of an incredible run. They have forgotten how to lose, and with Messi still in their sights, they will be favorites to win their 16th Copa America at home against Goliath Miami on Sunday. ***
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