2024 Copa America: Canada closes to Argentina [Video]

ATLANTA –

Lionel Messi’s passing brilliance got Argentina off to a winning start in the defence of its Copa America title, overcoming Canada and a poor playing surface at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Messi’s through ball led to Julián Álvarez’s 49th-minute goal and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner assisted on Lautaro Martínez’s 88th-minute score in a 2-0 victory on Thursday night.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve done this,” Messi said through a translator, “but we had patience to retain possession of the ball and it was hard to find the good open spaces.”

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Argentina is seeking its third straight major title after winning the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup. Held scoreless in the first half, Argentina outshot Canada 12-3 in the second.

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