Copa America 2024: Argentina Starts Title Defense with Win

Argentina kicked off their Copa América title defense with a 2-0 victory over debutants Canada

Julian Alvarez seized an opportunity from a tight angle, scoring his first Copa América goal giving Argentina the lead

[{"selector":"#anim-d52ad926-01bd-4f52-a9c1-0c99a324ec0c [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(41.76989101424182%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d452f250-df6e-4f5a-ada3-ae4dfbedfe2d","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(116.43835%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.2, 0, .8, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-40ccafaf-34a1-4ed5-b1cb-5e78d85ebac7","keyframes":{"transform":["rotateZ(180deg)","rotateZ(0deg)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.2, 0, .5, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d7bd9274-e6d0-4817-b940-3e778038516b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Quiet up until the hour mark, Messi assisted Lautaro Martinez, who calmly finished to secure the 2-0 victory

[{"selector":"#anim-7531a06e-62c3-49eb-9b51-e9370a36e316 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(17.407226302059406%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f773e3d8-429b-40d5-9241-c0bb15586c78","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2bc3cddf-3e08-4a94-985e-54adf1950c7c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(116.43835%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a9a9abd6-ad73-4691-bed3-3ddf8471b0c5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

As the tournament progresses, both teams will look to build on this match, with Argentina aiming to retain their crown

[{"selector":"#anim-f1804f01-3aa1-4af2-9bf8-dea536ee3b42 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(-18.200893086004967%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-cfc399ae-ab15-4209-9f73-e3a811650222","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Learn more