Messi Leads Argentina into Copa America Final

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to the Copa America final with a 2-0 win over Canada. The 37-year-old scored six minutes into the second half, deflecting an effort from Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez past Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.

Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez opened the scoring, latching onto a pass from Atletico Madrid’s Rodrigo de Paul and converting from close range. This marks the sixth time in the last eight editions that Argentina, the 15-time Copa America winners, have reached the final.

The upcoming final, against either Uruguay or Colombia, will be Angel di Maria’s final appearance for Argentina before his international retirement. There are also doubts about Messi’s long-term future with the national team. “Let’s enjoy what we are experiencing as a national team, as a group. It is not easy to be in a final again, to compete again to be champions,” Messi told TyC Sports. “I’m living it as I have been living everything lately – enjoying it very much and being aware, as it happens to Fideo (Di Maria) and Ota (Nicolas Otamendi), that these are the last battles.”

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni stated he will work to “convince” Di Maria and Messi to continue with international duty. “For Leo (Messi), it’s similar to Angel,” said Scaloni. “We have to let him be and we will never be the ones to close the door. He can be with our team for as long as he wants to be. And if he wants to retire but still come and hang around, it would be great.”

Canada, ranked 48th in the world, struggled to recover after Alvarez’s goal. “What I said to the team afterwards is I know that they’re very disappointed, but I’m very proud of them,” said Canada coach Jesse Marsch. “We’ve put together some incredible performances, just starting our process.” Marsch emphasized the importance of expanding their player pool in the coming years.

The semi-final between Uruguay and Colombia takes place on Thursday, 11 July at 01:00 BST, and the Copa America final is on Monday, 15 July at 01:00 BST.