As the first-half trundled to a tame conclusion, even the most optimistic of supporters may have found themselves suffering from a nasty case of deja vu.
That was, however, until Liverpool’s £35 million man broke from midfield and into the penalty area. Drawing the opposition goalkeeper out of position, one of the most successful signings of the latter day Jurgen Klopp era nicked in first and flicked the ball into the path of a grateful team-mate, who slammed his finish greedily into the open net.
Until the 49th minute – when Alexis Mac Allister raced onto a trademark Lionel Messi through ball and assisted Julian Alvarez – there were shades of Argentina’s famous defeat to Saudi Arabia at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Canada were sitting deep, well-organised off the ball and solid at the back. And Argentina, banging their heads against Jesse Marsch’s brick wall throughout the opening stanza, found themselves indebted to the intelligence and vision of Mac Allister.
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“It was a complicated game,” Lionel Scaloni admits to Ole, his Argentina side managing to succeed where they failed in Qatar. “In the second-half, we took to our way of playing.
“The idea was to do something else. Since we couldn’t move the ball around the pitch and because of how (Canada defended), we couldn’t find Alexis. We had to look for some variant.”
And they found one too; Mac Allister making a rare run off the ball and into the box. A darting dagger which broke the Canadian resistance.
“In the move for the (opening) goal, Alexis came by surprise. He uses that space between the centre- back and the full-back very well. He is intelligent.”
One of the key players as Argentina conquered the world 18 months ago, Mac Allister has certainly picked up where he left off in Qatar as Scaloni’s side look to add the 2024 Copa America to their collection.
“Incredibly creative on the attack,” was the Argentinian branch of ESPN’s assessment of Mac Allister’s buzzing display, giving the former Brighton ace an 8/10 match rating. “(He was) consistently threatening Canadian players before finally breaking through on that first goal.
“Excellent connection with Messi to inspire the goal.”
Alexis Mac Allister and Lionel Messi break Canada resistance
A late second from Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez sealed three opening day points. The Albiceleste will also face Peru and Chile in Group A.
Messi has only won the South American title once in his glorious career. This may be his final chance at adding a second a Copa America winners’ medal to his remarkable CV, the Inter Miami veteran only a few days away from his 37th birthday.
“We knew it was going to be a tough, very physical game,” Messi tells TNT Sports, pleased by the manner in which he combined with Mac Allister to open the scoring.
“At first, there was little space. Luckily, we found the goal quickly in the second half, but even so it was complicated.
“We have the patience to have the ball, to move it . Most rivals play differently against us. We must maintain control.”
Argentina will face Chile in their second group-stage fixture on Wednesday.
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