Messi leaves his mark, Argentina off to a good start at Copa America 2024

Argentina's national team played the opening match of Copa America 2024 against Canada. Albiceleste started well with a 2-0 victory.

Coach Lionel Scolani fielded the 2022 World Cup-winning squad, with Messi, Angel Di Maria and Julian Alvarez as the spearheads of the attack.

The reigning world champions had no trouble controlling the match. In the 5th minute, Leandro Paredes sent a warning to the Canadian goal with a powerful shot. However, the ball went over the goal of goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.

Three minutes later, Argentina had a clear chance to open the scoring. Di Maria won the ball in his own half and drove straight towards the Canadian penalty area. However, the former Real Madrid player's shot from a high position failed to beat Maxime Crepeau. Immediately after that, Messi received a chance from his teammate but his shot went wide.

In the first half, Messi played the role of organizing the attack for Argentina. He did everything from carrying the ball to finishing. However, luck was not on the 36-year-old striker's side. His finishing shots were either wide of the goal or blocked by the opposing goalkeeper.

On the other side, Canada played defensive counter-attacking. The most outstanding player was Bayern Munich defender Afonso Davies. However, this player alone did not make a difference for the North American team.

The difference came early in the second half. In the 49th minute, Messi made a delicate pass to Mac Allister. Goalkeeper Crepeau rushed out to block. The ball bounced to Julian Alvarez and the Man City striker easily tapped the ball in to open the scoring.

The goal helped the Argentine players feel more comfortable. They continuously put pressure on the Canadian field. Messi had the first chance to score but he missed. In the 65th minute, the Inter Miami striker rushed down, handled the ball comfortably, and shot but could not beat goalkeeper Crepeau.

Although he did not score, Messi still left his mark with an assist in the 88th minute. He passed the ball to Lautaro Martinez to score, making the score 2-0.

In the next match, Argentina will face Chile.

Result: Argentina 2-0 Canada

Score:

Argentina:Julian Alvarez (49'), Lautaro Martinez (88')