You can read a full report on tonight’s game here:
So let’s just look forward to meeting up again on Sunday for what should be a compelling final. Sure, all four Euro semi-finalists would likely wipe the field with these teams (and given the playing surface tonight, wiping the field might be a good idea). But this may be our last chance to see Messi on a stage like this, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he has one more magical moment to share.
See you then.
Have to pass along one more from the mailbag: “Timekeeping in soccer is a colossal joke,” says the aptly named Robert Speed. “FIFA did address it at the last world cup, and many leagues followed suit. But many also complained about the extended stoppage time. It appears UEFA and Conmebol have rejected FIFA’s approach.”
All true. Maybe the referee should literally stop the clock when someone is rolling around on the ground as if his injury has caused a sideways tornado tossing him around.
On that cynical note … wait, I can’t sign off with anything that cynical.
Full time: Argentina 2-0 Canada
Perhaps we’re getting spoiled watching a thrilling Euro tournament in the afternoons, but that was pretty poor. Argentina, as expected, looked like a team that was a level above Canada for most the game. But they barely got a second goal, thanks to a defender being drawn back toward the byline and leaving Messi in a legal position to redirect a mishit shot into the goal. And they should’ve given up a goal toward the end.
Does that mean Canada were unlucky not to be taking penalties right now? Not really. You’d have to think that if Argentina absolutely needed another goal, they would’ve found a way to get it.
Based on this, though, I’d project both of these teams to lose their last games in the Copa. Canada will be a huge underdog against either Colombia or Uruguay, of course, though they may be better motivated. And I don’t see this Argentina team as a championship winner.
90 min +4: Martinez takes a solid minute to take a goal kick. He should get a card for that, but he doesn’t. The ref should add another minute, but he won’t. Sigh. Too many teams get away with time-wasting these days.
In fact, he blows the whistle with 3:55 elapsed.
90 min +1: Only four minutes of stoppage time, which means I may have spoken too soon about the excellent job the referee was doing. The substitutions alone were close to three minutes, and Davies was down for a long while getting treatment, as was Di Maria. I’ll loan him my watch with the nifty timer on it.
Credit to Canada for making this interesting in the final minutes.
Updated
89 min: CHANCE FOR CANADA, and maybe I spoke too soon. That’s a terrible giveaway leading to a strong shot from Oluwaseyi, and Martinez makes a save that’s about 25% positioning and 75% luck.
And ANOTHER CHANCE, with a great cross to Oluwaseyi, whose glancing header glances a bit too much.
So close to 2-1 and an intriguing finish.
88 min: Well done by the referee here, playing advantage after Molina’s harsh foul on Osorio but coming back to show a yellow card when the ball goes out of play. That’s the first yellow for Argentina.
85 min: Foul count – Canada 13, Argentina 4. Unfortunately, that’s probably accurate. Argentina would argue the count should be two or three higher.
In Canada’s defense – this Argentinian team may not have the most dazzling attack in this Copa, but the defense is impeccable. At least, ever since the first 15 minutes, when Shaffelburg was running Montiel ragged. The center backs aren’t putting a foot wrong.
84 min: Joe Pearson answers Drewery Dyke: “I don’t think Canada can beat Uruguay or Colombia, so...”
Hey, Uruguay barely beat the USA, and we’re all being told Canada is better than the USA. They might not say it so loudly after this. Sure, losing 2-0 to Argentina is no shame, but the way they’ve gone about it has been uninspiring. Some dreadful lapses, inaccurate passes in the attacking half, desperate fouls every time Argentina gets the ball and starts to counter, and some unfortunate petulance.
80 min: Kone commits a frustration foul. With De Paul on the ground and the ball right behind him, Kone kicks the ball into the Argentina midfielder’s back. It’s a light touch, but it’s a textbook yellow card, and everyone’s hopping mad.
Then the referee deals with something I have not dealt with as a youth soccer referee – the ball hits the skycam. It’s a dropped ball to the team last in possession.
(By the way – I saw a reference to an “uncontested dropped ball” recently. They’ve all been uncontested for years.)
78 min: Argentina had only made two subs to this point (Otamendi and Molina replacing Tagliafico and Molina), but they make three in one window here. Surprisingly, they’ve left Messi on the field. Surely they would rest him at this point.
The subs: four-goal scorer Lautaro Martinez, Nicolas Gonzalez and Exequiel Palacios replace Alvarez, Mac Allister and Di Maria, all of whom were superb tonight.
76 min: Let’s see if we can figure out the Canadian lineup now …
Jonathan Osorio replaced Davies, and they may have gone to three backs – Cornelius, Bombito and Johnston.
Choinière has replaced Eustaquio to run alongside Kone in midfield.
Millar and Ahmed replaced Shaffelburg and Laryea, though Ahmed just popped up on the left and committed a foul in the Argentine penalty area.
Tani Oluwaseyi replaced David.
73 min: Larin falls at the edge of the box, perhaps a bit optimistically. The defender made contact, but that would seem harsh. The most recent Canadian sub, Mathieu Choinière, stops the Argentine counter by dumping De Paul to the ground.
70 min: Checking the mailbag while they take an eternity making subs …
Jason Justice: “Fox nonstop commentators have said that the pitch has not been watered, somebody applied sand instead for some reason, to the grass quilt. But having said that, the latest replay of the injured player indeed seem to show a lot of water.”
Travis Giblin: “Can you or others explain to me why 2 teams from the same group are playing in the semifinal rather than the final? Why are they on the same side of the draw? The only reason I can think of is so the final is a “new” game.”
Hmmmm. Good question.
W.M. Akers has the game on mute with Love Island in the background. SNL did a terrific parody of that show.
68 min: Davies gingerly trots back on the field … and immediately sits back down.
This game is absolutely not worth risking further injury. It’s not happening tonight.
Along those lines, Drewery Dyke has an intriguing thought about the substitutes: “Do you think Canada is now thinking about heading into the match for third place with a decent squad?”
65 min: Argentina go direct to Messi in the center circle, but Crepeau’s tendency to race out to cover ground pays off this time.
Alphonso Davies trips over Montiel. Clean tackle, but Davies being down is always going to be alarming for Canada. (And it may complicate talks between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.)
62 min: CHANCE for Canada and it continues for quite a while. After a non-call that surprises Argentina, Canada work the ball to Kone, whose shot from the top of the penalty area clangs into a defender. They maintain possession for a bit, but Di Maria wins it back and is off to the races. Eustáquio commits the tactical foul – or does he? Replay shows he barely touched Di Maria, if at all. But Di Maria stays down for a quite a while, anyway.
Both teams bring in subs, and Canada have taken off Jonathan David. Their two best attackers are now off the field.
61 min: Alvarez brings down a pass from Di Maria, who has more than justified his start tonight, and gets away from two defenders. He blasts a high-powered shot on target but straight at Crepeau.
60 min: Michael Meagher offers a clarification: ““Replay shows a defender inexplicably back toward the goal line.” He had been chasing after DePaul who ran off the back of the field.”
Clever bunch, those Argentinians.
56 min: The last email I couldn’t get to at halftime was from Georges Lebreton, who mentioned that Messi had never scored against Canada. He has since written back to add “so far.”
Kind of a subtle reference to the Simpsons movie.
Ahmed’s first touch lets him down and lets Argentina’s defense off the hook.
55 min: Ali Ahmed and Liam Millar replace Shaffelburg and Laryea. I have little reason to believe they will change the situation.
Goooooaallll! Argentina 2-0 Canada (Messi 51)
Replay shows Cornelius inexplicably back toward the goal line, keeping the best player of his generation not in an offside position at the edge of the 6-yard box to clean up after Kone can’t clear the ball and Fernandez shoots through traffic.
Ironically, it was a bit like a hockey goal, with the scorer standing close to the net and getting a slight touch to redirect the shot. The difference is that, in soccer, a player standing that close to the goal is usually offside.
Updated
Gooooaaaaaallll! Maybe. Argentina 2-0 Canada, perhaps
Terrible defending from Canada, but an offside call should bail them out. Argentina aren’t celebrating too much.
49 min: Promising stuff from Canada until Laryea has a mediocre first touch and Eustáquio underhits a pass.
Argentina go the other way – for a team not known for athleticism, they certainly go from defending to earning a corner kick or getting a shot in mere seconds.
48 min: Jim Denvir writes: “I’m fortunate enough to be at the MetLife stadium for this, and I can assure Justin Kavanaugh (30th minute) that there is nothing halfway approaching ice anywhere here.”
Coincidentally, I went to the first volunteer session of the summer at my curling club over the weekend. It was rather warm.
47 min: Jesse Marsch is yelling about the ball being called out of play when it might not have been. Bane of a referee’s existence – people losing their composure over one of the most trivial decisions the officials can make.
46 min: We resume with a foul that leaves Julian Alvarez wondering what he did to deserve that. Free kick Messi, nearly 40 yards out.
Updated
Sam MB answers my question: “No dog in this particular fight, but were this US v Canada, I’d think USA (of which I’m a benighted citizen) would get right smacked down, maple-dipped, and hung out to dry while looking increasingly frustrated. I blame Berhalter: dishonor on him, dishonor on his cow!”
Sounds like an ad for a chicken restaurant I won’t name.
Rodney MacDonald has sent one of my favorite emails ever: “Following from Peaches, a queer sports bar in the west end of Toronto. Thanks for filling in the gaps. We Canadians are not sure why the players are not just punching each other in the face to gain possession of the sphere?”
I’d say they need to drop the gloves, but it’s far too warm for gloves.
Your halftime question, taken from something mentioned in the pregame show:
If Canada were playing the United States, not Argentina, who would be winning right now?
Halftime: Argentina 1-0 Canada
Our last image of the first half is Canadian coach Jesse Marsch, who has made some in his home country of the United States gaze wistfully while wondering why he didn’t get the US job, yelling at someone. It really shouldn’t be the referee, who has done nothing wrong to Canada in this game and even declined to give Messi a call he emphatically sought out.
Canada had a bright start for 10-15 minutes, and Argentina’s defense looked vulnerable. But as if hypnotized by the side-to-side motion of the ball, Canada’s midfield and defense have been lulled to complacency more than once, and they’ve paid dearly for it.
45 min +2: CHANCE for Canada … yes, really! The ball floats into the area, and David races to meet it a couple of feet away from the near post. But Martinez meets the challenge, and Canada’s corner kick is wasteful.
45 min +1: You can’t try to chip Crepeau every time. Crepeau was on his line, and that ball went high. Not the best attacking idea from Argentina that time.
45 min: We can’t have more than a minute of stoppage time here. OK, two, apparently. That’s fine.
44 min: CHANCE for Argentina, specifically for Messi. Di Maria centers the ball, and Alvarez dummies it for the greatest player of his generation. Messi quickly loses Johnston with his first touch, then lashes a shot just wide of the post.
42 min: The referee forum I monitor has yet to mention this game for some reason. What else is everyone doing on a Tuesday night?
We’re back to Argentina’s defense padding their passing stats.
On Fox, Stu Holden mentions how exhausting it can be to chase the ball for so long. But Canada aren’t chasing. They’re walking, watching and waiting. (Another of the 5 Ws: Why?)
40 min: Messi hits the ground. He wasn’t fouled, Fox commentary to the contrary.
The ball hits the referee. He lets play continue for a couple of seconds but then concludes that possession changed because it hit him, and he awards a dropped ball to Canada. That’s correct procedure, Fox commentary to the contrary.
39 min: Canada find Shaffelburg again, but his cross flies over everything.
Still, Canada have maintained quite a bit of possession in the last three minutes or so.
37 min: Canada’s economical passing of the first 15 minutes seems a distant memory. These passes are a mix of aimless and pointless, and they end up passing it back into their own half.
34 min: Upon restarting, the ball is played quickly to Di Maria, who lobs it over an out-of-position Crepeau. He misses, but that’s another Canadian lapse.
Tagliafico charges into the attack. His shot is deflected out for a corner. Here comes Messi, which means a lot of people are screaming like they’re a few miles away at Shea Stadium and it’s 60 years ago and the Beatles are playing.
Corner is headed over the bar.
32 min: Yellow card to Jonathan David for raising his foot into Romero’s … ouch, let’s not see that replay again. Romero is still down. Not sure why anyone would be surprised.
Speaking of hockey (previous post), we’re getting a replay of the goal. Crepeau was beaten 5-hole. (Hockey term.)
31 min: A weak backpass from Bombito leaves Crepeau to deal with an onrushing Alvarez. The ball just barely gets back to Crepeau in time for the Canadian keeper to play it safely to a nearby teammate.
30 min: Justin Kavanagh writes again: “The pitch is strangely overwatered tonight. Perhaps the ground staff thought that a surface halfway to ice would suit a Canadian team? The Canucks are on thin ice here though.”
How’s the Canadian swim team looking this year?
We have indeed seen a lot of water spraying up from the surface whenever anyone slides.
28 min: Martinez is getting a lot of time on the ball.
The goalkeeper. Not the center back with the same surname. He has spent roughly three of the game’s first 27 minutes standing just in front of the penalty arc with the ball at his feet and no one pressing him.
25 min: The good news for Canada is that the goal shouldn’t force any sort of tactical change at this stage. They were never bunkering in this game. They can keep doing what they were doing, but just pay a bit more attention to that wandering Argentine attacker.
Free kick for Canada played into the mixer, causing a mildly nervous moment for Argentina.
Gooooaal! Argentina 1-0 Canada (Alvarez 23)
The center backs switched off for a second. That’s all it takes. De Paul sees Alvarez between Bombito and right back Johnston, and Bombito can’t recover in time to stop Alvarez from depositing the ball past Crepeau.
23 min: Jesse Marsch should consider going back into his team’s technical area.
22 min: Another slooooowwww buildup for Argentina, which has a 65-35 possession edge.
20 min: A bit of a lull, which both teams probably appreciate on this hot, humid night. But Argentina work it slowly but surely up the field before Canada reclaim possession.
18 min: More attacking prowess from Canada, but it’s almost undone by another walkabout by Crepeau, who is nearly chipped from about 75 yards out.
Reminder: Canada had Venezuela beaten until Crepeau wandered out and let a long shot sail over his head.
16 min: Messi takes on five players and only beats four.
Canada are off to the races, but Kone puts a cross a bit behind Larin, and Larin isn’t able to connect cleanly to get it to the mostly open … you guessed it … Shaffelburg.
15 min: Davies and Cornelius make a couple of vital interceptions, and Crepeau positions himself well to catch a ball lobbed into the penalty area.
12 min: CHANCE for Argentina, and that came quickly. Di Maria defies his age with a quick run down the right and dumps it back to Messi near the top of the penalty area. Messi shoots straight, parallel to the touchline. Fortunately for Canada, he was standing a couple of feet outside the post, and the shot rolls wide.
10 min: Argentina’s first sustained possession in the Canadian half ends with right back Montiel playing a pass to Laryea, who is on the other team.
Montiel has already lost Shaffleburg twice and now has committed an unforced error going forward. Not a great start.
8 min: CHANCE for Canada, and did Argentina not watch any video of Canada’s first games? Shaffelburg again gets into space and finds room to shoot. It goes wide, but Argentina will have to have a few questions of their defense right now.
Our officials tonight are from Chile:
Referee: Piero Maza
AR1: Claudio Urrutia
AR2: Jose Retamal
Fourth official: Cristian Garay
Fifth official: Juan Serrano
VAR: Juan Lara
AVAR: Edson Cisternas
5 min: Argentina resume connecting passes until Johnston intercepts, and the defense makes the mistake of leaving Shaffelburg unmarked as he receives a pass at the top of the box. They recover and force him to rush a shot high, but that was promising for Canada and puzzling for Argentina.
4 min: A bit of offensive intrigue for Canada after a wayward pass amongst the Argentinian bank ranks, but it comes to little.
But after Argentina’s first attack, Canada break quickly and win a corner kick.
2 min: Alert: It’s 85 degrees Fahrenheit with 70% humidity. No wonder Canada isn’t pressing much, allowing Argentina to pass from side to side.
1 min: We’re off. Canada is wearing red. Argentina is wearing Argentina blue and white.
Reminder: While most US sports events don’t start at the top of the hour, Copa matches have been rather punctual.
So … we’re almost ready to go.
Mailbag!
Joe Pearson: “My online sportsbook has Canada at 9 to 1. So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
Drake apparently bet $300k, so he’d be looking at throwing another couple of million dollars on the pile.
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Justin Kavanagh: “Good evening Beau. How lucky we are to get to watch two great international sides, Argentina and Spain, on the same day. Hopefully, we’ll get to see both in action again on Sunday (no offence, Canadians). Which got me wondering, how many times have they met each other in top-level competitive football? Only once, it turns out, at the 1966 World Cup (Argentina 2-1 Spain, since you ask). What a final that would make in 2026! And just think, Lamine Yamal will be a wily, 18-year old veteran by then.”
Given Yamal’s breathtaking goal today and Argentina’s uneven performances in the Copa so far, I think Spain would reverse that 1966 score rather easily.
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Niall O’Keeffe: “Fair play for doing the minute by minute for Canada’s biggest game ever. 2022 World Cup games included. Lived in Toronto for 15 years and was a Toronto FC season ticket holder. This team is the best national team Canada has had. As someone who proudly holds dual Irish and Canadian citizenship, I have NOWTV ready to go for the match at 01:00 Irish time. Shoutout to my son Aidan who drove down from Toronto to New Jersey for this game. And to my former team mate Greg Dee who is a huge fan of the team and is also there (and went to the 2022 World Cup). Go Canada! Will be close.”
I enjoy doing the MBM, but I’ll trade you if it means I can be in Dublin right now. Or Ballyferriter, where I plan to set part of the novel I’ll get around to writing one day.
Argentina lineup
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) is also riding the high of a penalty-shootout win.
Left back Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon) and center backs Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United) and Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur) have been key parts of a stellar defense. Martinez also has a goal to his name.
Right back Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla) gets his second start of the tournament.
Midfielders Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) and Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid) also have had more impact defensively than offensively.
Left midfielder Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) had a pair of assists and a lot of incisive passes in the preceding games.
A mild surprise – 36-year-old Angel De Maria (Benfica) gets the call at right mid.
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) has one goal while sharing time up front in the Copa.
And then there’s Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), who has one assist to show for his 2.5 xAG (expected assisted goals), which raises the question of whether his critics are looking at the wrong part of the team.
ON THE BENCH … Lautaro Martinez, who has four goals.
Canada lineup
All of Canada’s goal-scorers in this tournament are in the starting lineup. All two of them. One goal each.
Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau (Portland Timbers) shook off an ignominious frolic up the field, conceding the equalizing goal, in the quarter-final against Venezuela. Any goalkeeper on the winning side of a penalty shootout has momentum.
Left back Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) is on Real Madrid’s wishlist, according to the people who write such things.
Center backs Derek Cornelius (Malmo) and Moise Bombito (Colorado Rapids) haven’t been overawed by the occasion.
Right back Alistair Johnston (Celtic) is, as you’d expect from a Celtic player, a battler.
Midfielder Stephen Eustáquio (FC Porto) has had a quiet tournament, though he’s fourth in the team in xG at 0.6, according to the people who calculate such things.
Alongside him, Ismaël Koné (Marseille) returns to the starting lineup.
Attacking mid Jonathan David (Lille) is tied for the team lead in goals (1) and key passes (5) with …
… left wing Jacob Shaffelburg (Nashville), who seemed to be taking on the whole Venezuelan team by himself.
Right wing Richie Laryea (Toronto) was a substitute in the group-stage opener against Argentina and has been subbed off in his three starts.
Forward Cyle Larin (Mallorca) will need to raise his game if Canada are to have a chance tonight.
Preamble
Can you believe all these Copa América mismatches?
Mighty Canada against … who? Argentina?
Who does Argentina even have? That’s their best player? The guy who looks like he’s about 5-foot-2? How old is he? He’s 37???!!! And he plays for some team in Miami?! Guess he couldn’t find any decent teams in Argentina.
Canada has a lot of good teams. The Vancouver Whitecaps. Toronto FC. CF Montréal. FC Edmon- … what? Oh, they’re not around any more? Well, still – that’s three.
If the United States can’t beat Canada, what chance does Argentina have?
…
…
Yes, obviously, this is tongue-in-cheek. A Canadian win tonight would be one of the biggest upsets in the history of international soccer. Watch with me to see if it happens, won’t you?
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Joseph Lowery on how Canada have made it this far:
Canada have the best player in Concacaf in Alphonso Davies. Their midfield features Porto’s Stephen Eustáquio and Ismaël Koné, who will move from Watford to Marseille this summer. Jonathan David and Cyle Larin form a dangerous forward partnership at the top of manager Jesse Marsch’s customary 4-2-2-2 shape.
Marsch’s influence on this Canada team is unmistakable, despite having only been hired in May. The American manager has coached just six games in his new post, leading the charge in two pre-Copa friendlies against the Netherlands and France before his team’s group stage began with a 2-0 loss to Argentina. Canada couldn’t hold on in that match with the reigning world champions, but they were impressive for 45 minutes. They equaled Argentina’s shot count and went into the break tied at 0-0 before fading in the second half.
There’s no shame in coming up short against Argentina, of course. More than the obvious gap in quality between the two teams and more than the loss itself, there was a crucial takeaway from the tournament opener: Canada came to play.
You can read the full article below:
