World champions Argentina have kickstarted their campaign in the ongoing Copa America with a stunning 2-0 win over Canada in front of a crowd of 70,564 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday. Argentina will be looking forward to continuing their form to bid for back-to-back Copa America titles under the leadership of Lionel Messi.
Argentina Defeated Canada By 2-0
Talking out the game, Julian Alvarez put Argentina in the driving seat in the 49th minute, however, thanks to the brilliant goalkeeping from Canada’s Max Crepeau and Lionel Messi’s lack of accuracy in front of the goal ensured Canada were in the game until Lautaro Martinez settled the game with a goal in the 88th minute.
While Argentina fully deserves their victory, Canada, who are ranked 48th in the world, should take pride in the way they fought against the 15-time Copa America winners.
Lionel Messi Scripts History In Copa America 2024
Meanwhile, during the game, Lionel Messi broke the all-time record for most appearances at Copa America. Messi’s appearance on Thursday night in Atlanta during the Argentina vs Canada match was his 35th appearance across seven tournaments, with his first being in 2007.
Messi has made at least four appearances in every edition since his first appearance, including seven when Argentina won the title in 2021.
For the unversed, the 2021 Copa America win was Messi’s sixth appearance in the marquee tournament but it was the first time (in any international competition) he managed to end up on the winning side in the final.
Messi has 183 caps for his country. He has scored 108 goals and added 56 assists — all Argentine records. He also won an Olympic gold medal as an under-23 at the Beijing Games in 2008.
Apart from this, Messi has 13 Copa America goals. He is just four shy of the record of Brazil’s Zizinho and Norberto Mendez, which has been unbroken since 1957. Messi will be looking forward to winning his third tournament as a senior international, after the 2021 Copa America victory and captaining Argentina to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
