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Copa America 2024

Messi's Argentina beat Canada 2-0 in 2024 Copa America inaugural match

Lionel Messi's Argentina beat Canada 2-0 in the 2024 Copa America opening match in Atlanta. Find out here the goals and highlights.

Julian Alvarez of Argentina celebrates after scoring the team's first goal during the CONMEBOL Copa America group A match between Argentina and Canada at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on June 20, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
© Alex Slitz/Getty ImagesJulian Alvarez of Argentina celebrates after scoring the team's first goal during the CONMEBOL Copa America group A match between Argentina and Canada at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on June 20, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Argentina started their title defense on the right foot. With goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez, the reigning champions defeated Canada 2-0 in the 2024 Copa America opening match.

Lionel Messi became the player with the most Copa America appearances by playing the full 90 minutes for La Albiceleste, but missed two one-on-one opportunities during the game.

Argentina return to action Tuesday against Chile, with Canada playing Peru in the other Group A fixture earlier that day.

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Argentina beat Canada in 2024 Copa America opener

That's all for today! With goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez, Argentina beat Canada 2-0 in the 2024 Copa America inaugural match and you lived every moment of the game on Bolavip.

Thanks for staying with us, and see you next time!

FULL TIME! (Argentina 2-0 Canada)

Argentina defeated Canada 2-0 in the 2024 Copa America opening match.

MESSI BACK ON THE FIELD

The Argentine star recovered from the knock and is back on the field. He almost assists Nicolas Otamendi for the second of the night.

Messi sets off alarms!

The Inter Miami star looks in pain after a foul from Bombito!

81' - Yellow card in Canada (1-0)

Kone gets booked for a foul on de Paul.

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79' - Messi misses yet another chance! (1-0)

Messi with another wasted on-on-one situation.

76' - More substitutions in Argentina (1-0)

Lautaro Martinez and Nicolas Otamendi come on for Julian Alvarez and Leandro Paredes, respectively.

73' - Canada looking for the equalizer (1-0)

Davies tries with his weak foot but it goes wide.

71' - No penalty for Canada! (1-0)

The Canucks almost get a golden chance to tie the game.

67' - First substitution in Argentina (1-0)

Angel Di Maria is subbed off for Giovani Lo Celso.

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66' - CANADA ALMOST TIE! (1-0)

Jonathan David's header goes just wide.

65' - Messi misses huge chance! (1-0)

Messi missed a great on-on-one chance to extend the lead.

Scaloni winless in tournament debuts

Argentina have so far never won in a tournament debut under Scaloni.

  • 2019 Copa America: 2-0 loss to Colombia
  • 2021 Copa America: 1-1 vs Chile
  • 2022 World Cup: 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia

Will that change tonight?

Julian's drought is over!

Alvarez hadn't scored for Argentina since the 2022 World Cup semifinal against Croatia. 895 minutes later, he found the net again!

Julian almost makes it two!

Crepeau with another big save to prevent Alvarez from adding a second to his tally.

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49' - ARGENTINA SCORE! (1-0)

Julian Alvarez puts Argentina in front.

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! (0-0)

Action continues at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

87' - ARGENTINA SCORE! (2-0)

Messi assists Lautaro Martinez to extend Argentina's lead.

HALFTIME! (0-0)

Argentina and Canada are still level at the break.

42' - HUGE SAVE! (0-0)

Dibu Martinez saves a dangerous header from Eustaquio to keep the game level!

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39' - Big save! (0-0)

Crepeau denies Mac Allister's header to keep things level.

38' - Canada holding the world champs (0-0)

Jesse Marsch's men are not making things easy for Argentina, who can't seem to find spaces to get on target.

29' - So close! (0-0)

Alphonso Davies makes the difference on the left, but Taj Buchanan fails to break the deadlock.

27' - Great chance for Argentina! (0-0)

Messi with an accurate pass for Acuña, but his cross doesn't find another Argentine player.

22' - Still goalless! (0-0)

Davies' shot is blocked but Canada get a corner kick.

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21' - Huge opportunity for Canada! (0-0)

The Canucks get a free-kick close to the box.

15' - Argentina in control of the ball (0-0)

The defending champs dominate possession but can't seem to find spaces.

8' - Crepeau denies Di Maria (0-0)

The Canadian keeper denied the Argentine winger on a clear one-on-one situation!

4' - Leandro Paredes with the first shot! (0-0)

The AS Roma midfielder's effort goes just wide.

MESSI BREAKS ANOTHER RECORD!

With his presence in tonight's game, Leo Messi becomes the player with the most Copa America games played (35). He was tied with Chilean Sergio Livingstone until today.

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0' - GAME ON! (0-0)

The 2024 Copa America is underway!

Argentina and Canada are already facing each other in Atlanta in the opening match of the competition.

Game about to start!

Both national anthems were played, now both Argentina and Canada are ready for kick-off.

It's time for the 2024 Copa America!

Teams walking out to the field!

National anthems about to take place as both Argentina and Canada take the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Just minutes away from the 2024 Copa America inaugural match!

Messi to break record!

With 34 matches played, Lionel Messi is tied with Chilean Sergio Livingstone as the players with the most Copa America appearances.

Leo is set to break that record tonight!

Pre-game ceremony

A pre-game ceremony ahead of the 2024 Copa America inaugural match takes place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Feid is the artist performing the pre-game show.

Kick-off in less than 15 minutes!

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Third straight international title for Messi, Argentina?

Apart from defending their 2021 Copa America title, Messi and Argentina will be looking to win an international competition for the third consecutive time.

After winning the 2021 Copa America, Lionel Scaloni's men beat Italy in the 2022 Finalissima and went on to win the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

How do Argentina and Canada arrive in this game?

Argentina claimed friendly wins over Ecuador (1-0) and Guatemala (4-1) in the June international window.

Canada, on the other hand, suffered a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands before holding Kylian Mbappe's France to a goalless draw.

Canada's first Copa America appearance

While Argentina have a rich history in the Copa America, this will be Canada's first appearance in the tournament.

With CONMEBOL extending an invitation to six CONCACAF teams, the Canucks earned their spot via a playoff to take part in the 2024 Copa America.

Teams on the field for warm up!

Both Argentina and Canada are already on the field to perform warm-up drills.

The 2024 Copa America gets underway soon!

Will Argentina go back-to-back?

Argentina head into the 2024 Copa America aiming to defend their title from 2021.

Three years ago, Leo Messi tasted international glory for the first time as La Albiceleste defeated hosts Brazil 1-0 in a hard-fought final at the emblematic Maracana.

That was the team's 15th Copa America title, matching Uruguay as the winningest sides in tournament history.

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Argentina's last 10 Copa America debuts

Here's how Argentina fared in their last 10 Copa America debuts:

  • Brazil 2021: Argentina 1 (Messi) - Chile 1 (Vargas)
  • Brazil 2019: Argentina 0 - Colombia 2 (Roger Martínez, Duván Zapata)
  • USA 2016: Argentina 2 (Ángel Di María,Ever Banega) - Chile 1 (José Pedro Fuenzalida)
  • Chile 2015: Argentina 2 (Sergio Agüero, Lionel Messi) - Paraguay 2 (Nelson Haedo Valdez, Lucas Barrios)
  • Argentina 2011: Argentina 1 (Sergio Agüero) - Bolivia (Edivaldo Rojas)
  • Venezuela 2007: Argentina 4 (Hernán Crespo -2-, Pablo Aimar, Carlos Tevez) - USA 1 (Eddie Johnson)
  • Peru 2004: Argentina 6 (Cristian González, Javier Saviola -3-, Andrés D'Alessandro, Luis González) - Ecuador 1 (Agustín Delgado)
  • Colombia 2001: Argentina did not participate
  • Paraguay 1999: Argentina 3 (Diego Simeone, Martín Palermo -2-) - Ecuador 1 (Iván Kaviedes)
  • Bolivia 1997: Argentina 0-0 Ecuador

Argentina's starting 11 confirmed

Argentina's lineup to play Canada tonight has been confirmed.

Canada's lineup confirmed!

Jesse Marsch has confirmed Canada's lineup to play Argentina in the 2024 Copa America opener.

Argentina vs Canada: Head-to-head

This will be the second time Argentina and Canada face each other. But this will be the first time they do so in an official competition.

In their only meeting to date on May 24, 2010, La Albiceleste claimed a commanding 5-0 win in an international friendly in Buenos Aires ahead of the South Africa 2010 World Cup.

Will Argentina gain the upper hand again tonight?

Tonight's stage

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be home to the 2024 Copa America inaugural match between Argentina and Canada before hosting the group stage clash between the USA and Panama on June 27.

With a 71,000 capacity (a full-house is expected for Argentina-Canada), this stadium opened in 2017 and has been home to the Atlanta United (MLS) and Atlanta Falcons (NFL) since then.

This state-of-the-art stadium will also be one of the 2026 World Cup venues, hosting five group stage matches, and three knockout stage fixtures, including a semifinal.

A view of Mercedes-Benz Stadium during a match between Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United on September 16, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.

A view of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the Copa America 2024 inaugural game.

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Tonight's referees

Venezuelan ref Jesús Valenzuela will officiate the 2024 Copa America opening match between Argentina and Canada, joined by fellow countrymen Jorge Urrego and Lubin Torreal as assistant referees.

Salvadoran refs Iván Barton and David Morán will be the fourth and fifth official, respectively.

Uruguayan Leodán González will be in charge of VAR, with compatriot Richard Trinidad as AVAR.

  • Referee: Jesús Valenzuela
  • Assistant 1: Jorge Urrego
  • Assistant 2: Lubin Torreal
  • Fourth official: Iván Barton
  • Fifth official: David Morán
  • VAR: Leodán González
  • AVAR: Richard Trinidad

Messi expected to start

Argentine national team insider Gaston Edul of TyC Sports reports Lionel Messi will start for Argentina vs Canada in the 2024 Copa America opener.

Argentina's lineup vs Canada: Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuña; Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo de Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez.

Kick-off time and how to watch

The 2024 Copa America inaugural match will kick off at 8:00 PM (ET).

There will be many options to watch Argentina vs Canada in the USA: ViX, Fubo, Fox Sports 1, TUDN USA, and Univision.

Argentina and Canada kick off the 2024 Copa America!

Welcome to our live blog of the 2024 Copa America opening match between Argentina and Canada!

The reigning champions start their title defense against the Canucks in Atlanta, Georgia, as a historic edition of the tournament gets underway.

From now on, you'll get everything you need to know about this exciting game here.

Stay with us and don't miss a single thing!

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