Argentina 2-0 Canada: Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez lead World Cup winners into Copa America final

As dark clouds converged over the New Jersey marshes, a pair of figures stood out among the crowd entering MetLife Stadium.

They were Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were smartly dressed, as always. And they hung around the gates in the hope that someone would decide to step forward. There was just one problem: the tens of thousands of Argentine fans who had gathered there had already chosen their God.

And for hours afterward, they chanted his name and bowed in his direction. Even at 37, even after battling injuries, even after missing a penalty in the quarterfinals, even after several games without scoring, Lionel Messi continues to return that devotion.

He was not always at his best here but still won man of the match and scored the decisive second goal as defending champions Argentina beat Canada to reach the Copa America final and the door to immortality.

What a moment to score his first goal of the tournament! Messi is now the second-highest scorer in international football history, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo; Lionel Scaloni’s side are now one match away from winning their third consecutive major tournament. No South American team has ever achieved a Copa America-World Cup-Copa America treble.

Julián Álvarez put the Argentines on the road to Miami (Messi’s adopted homeland) with a perfectly worked goal midway through the first half. Then, shortly after the restart, the Argentine captain sealed the victory by deflecting Enzo Fernández’s shot from just a few metres.

This meant that this semi-final ended with the same result as when these two teams met in the opening match of the tournament. However, what that obscures is the remarkable progress made by Jesse Marsch and Canada on their way to this point.

In the country’s first Copa America, just a couple of months after naming the American coach, Canada has broken new ground. Two years removed from a World Cup on home soil, this team appears to have turned toward brighter days.

For a team ranked 48th in the world, this has been a brilliant run that included highlight-reel wins over Peru and Venezuela. Canada was the better team until the first goal. So it’s a credit to those at US Soccer headquarters. Marsch was passed over in favor of Gregg Berhalter. But after the U.S. fell apart, he has taken Canada to new heights.

“We’ve had a wonderful five or six weeks together and it’s gone much better than any of us could have hoped for,” Marsch said.

“We have built a very good foundation… I accepted this job seven weeks ago, I could not imagine that I would be here.”

After a couple of training sessions, Marsch fears that his team could have a difficult summer. “We are way above where I thought we could have been.”

This game always seemed like a bridge too far. Scaloni has built a winning machine that has already won this tournament in 2021 and the 2022 World Cup. Now only Uruguay or Colombia can stop Argentina from securing a record 16th Copa America. Not exactly a hopeless task for Jehovah’s Witnesses, but not an easy feat either.

“People think we are different from other Argentines, but that’s not the case,” Scaloni said. “We all understand what it means to wear this shirt.”

On the possibility of making history, he added: ‘These are statistics, I’m not really interested… the most important thing is to win, not what the statistics say: that we can win three finals in a row.’

A few hours before kick-off, fans were already passing footballs around the Metlife Stadium car parks. They belonged to different generations and wore different shirts, but almost all bore the same name. Together they wove the tapestry of Messi’s career. Argentina, Barcelona, ​​​​Inter Miami.

On Tuesday night, almost a year after his arrival in the United States, almost two years after the World Cup final was held in this stadium, Messi arrived at the beginning of another story.

There were occasional red Canadian lights in the parking lots and stands. But beyond that, Jersey was a sea of ​​blue and white. Argentine fans drank and danced. One of them lit fireworks. Those Jehovah’s Witnesses stood and watched.

This tournament has left us with some reminders of Messi’s fragility. Since these two teams met on opening night, the 37-year-old had struggled with injuries and then, against Ecuador, missed a penalty.

Canada has also had its own crazy time over the past two and a half weeks. That’s a significant part of Marsch’s reign and the coach insisted his team has grown a lot in this unexpected run.

Canada stifled the defending champions for a while in Atlanta and Marsch’s team got off to a nerveless start. Never mind that this was one of the biggest nights in team history. Never mind that Metlife was a powder keg. The fans turned up the noise — and bowed in unison — after Messi sent an early shot wide.

However, Canada was the team that created the brightest chances. New hero Jacob Shaffelburg had a couple of shooting opportunities; Marsch’s team looked dangerous every time they attacked.

But the coach had already begun to sense that this dream run was taking its toll on his players. And he was right. Canada was out of breath in an instant.

Rodrigo de Paul had too much time near midfield and the midfielder played a ball to Alvarez. The Manchester City striker found space, took advantage of Moise Bombito’s challenge and opened the scoring, just as he did against Canada in the group stage.

It was a vindication for Scaloni, who chose Alvarez over the tournament’s top scorer, Lautaro Martinez. It was also a brutal reminder that the best teams in the world don’t always fire warning shots.

Marsch was not happy: Canada’s coach wanted a foul in the build-up to the goal. However, by half-time he was relieved that the difference was only one goal. For a while after the goal, Canada clung to the lead. Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Tagliafico came close before Messi created space inside the box, but his shot went wide.

He made no mistake a few minutes later when Fernandez fired in a shot from the edge of the box. Messi appeared to be offside when he deflected the ball into the net. He wasn’t. So the goal stood and Canada fell to its sword.

Marsch’s side continued to press and Canada created a couple of glorious late chances for substitute Tani Oluwaseyi. By then, however, many of the 80,000 spectators there, including Brazilian great Ronaldo, had already started partying early.