After winning Group A, Argentina became the first team to advance to the semifinals after beating Ecuador 4-2 on penalties (1-1 at the end of regulation). They will face Canada, who beat Venezuela in the same manner (1-1 at the end of regulation, 4-3 on penalties) on July 5 at AT&T Stadium.
Argentina-Canada: History
They have met once in the CONMEBOL Copa América™: it was on the first day of the group stage of this edition, and there was a 2-0 victory for Argentina.
Facts to consider
Argentina have won their last 10 matches against Concacaf rivals in official competitions. Additionally, they have not conceded a goal in their last six matches, a run that began against Costa Rica at the 2011 CONMEBOL Copa América™.
The last time La Albiceleste lost to teams from this confederation in major tournaments was in 2004, when Mexico won 1-0 in the group stage of the CONMEBOL Copa América™. Argentina have reached the semifinals in seven of the last eight major tournaments (World Cups and CONMEBOL Copa América™) they have participated in. The only exception was the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where La Albiceleste were eliminated in the round of 16 by France (3-4), the eventual champion of that tournament.
Four players from Argentina’s squad for this CONMEBOL Copa América™ are among the top 20 with most appearances for La Albiceleste: Messi (1st with 185), Di María (3rd with 143), Otamendi (5th with 115), and the latest to join that list, Rodrigo De Paul (20th with 67).
Under Lionel Scaloni, Argentina have reached the semi-finals of all four major tournaments they have participated in (CONMEBOL Copa América™ in 2019, 2021 and 2024 + FIFA World Cup 2022). In addition, they finished second in the South American qualifiers for Qatar and are currently top of the standings.
Argentina have played four penalty shootouts since Lionel Scaloni became their coach, all of which have been won by La Albiceleste: Colombia (CONMEBOL Copa América 2021™), Netherlands, and France (FIFA World Cup 2022), and Ecuador (CONMEBOL Copa América 2024). Argentina will face the same opponent twice in a CONMEBOL Copa América for the fifth time under the tournament’s current format since 1993. Two encounters were in the semifinals (Colombia 1993 and Paraguay 2015) and two were in the finals (Mexico 1993 and Chile 2016).
This is the second time Canada has faced a CONMEBOL rival in the semifinals or final of an official tournament, following the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup, where they defeated Colombia in the final.
The reigning CONMEBOL Copa América™ champions have reached the semi-finals seven times under the current format since 1993. Only two have failed to reach the final: Colombia in 2004 (lost to Argentina) and Chile in 2019 (lost to Peru), both falling by the same scoreline of 3-0. Alexis Mac Allister provided two assists in the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™.
Since this data began to be recorded (2011), only Lionel Messi has provided three or more assists for Argentina in a single edition of the tournament (four times: 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2021).
Canada have generated more expected goals than their opponents in their last three CONMEBOL Copa América games against Venezuela, Chile, and Peru. The only team to outperform them in this regard during the tournament was Argentina in their debut (3xG vs. 1.2xG).
Source : OPTA
Predictions
Argentina, having always triumphed against Canada, has a psychological advantage, especially since the Albiceleste had easily won 2-0 against the Canucks in the group stage. For Canada, who are participating in the Copa America for the first time, the objective has already been achieved and they will approach this match without pressure.
Argentina is widely considered the favourite by all bookmakers.
The Sportytrader algorithm estimates the probability of 66.02% for a prediction of victory of Argentina against Canada with a rating of 1.36 at Betsson.
The probability according to Sportytrader for a draw prediction between Argentina vs Canada is 20.51% – odds of 4.95 at Betsson.
Key points of the Argentina – Canada prediction:
In the group stage of this Copa America, Argentina beat Canada 2-0. The Albiceleste have always won their four matches against Canada (2-0, 0-2, 5-0, 2-0). In its last 15 games, Canada has won only five times. Argentina have won their last nine games, including a penalty shootout victory over Ecuador in the quarter-finals. Canada struggled to advance to the semi-finals of this Copa America, winning its previous match against Venezuela on penalties. Possible compositions:
Argentina : Emiliano Martínez ; Nahuel Molina or Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico ; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes or Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister ; Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez or Lautaro Martínez, and Nicolás González or Angel Di María. Coach: Lionel Scaloni Canada: Maxime Crepeau; Alistair Johnston, Moise Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Alphonso Davies; Ismael Koné, Stephen Eustaquio; Liam Millar, Jonathan David, Jacob Shaffelburg; Cyle Larin. Coach: Jesse Marsch Appointments of arbitrators:
Referee: Piero Maza (WHO) Referee assistants: Claudio Urrutia and Jose Retamal (CHI) Fourth referee: Cristian Garay (CHI) VAR: Juan Lara (CHI) Match information:
Match : Argentine-Canada (Match 29, Demi-finales) Date and time: July 9, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. Canada/9:00 p.m. Argentina) Stade : MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey Similar articles
