Lionel Messi pulls strings as Argentina tame Canada in Copa América opener

Lionel Messi made a great pass to set up Julián Álvarez's goal in the 49th minute, and later helped Lautaro Martínez score in the 88th minute as Argentina started their Copa América title defense with a 2-0 win against Canada on Thursday evening.

Argentina is aiming to win their third consecutive major championship following their victories in the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 World Cup.

The South American championship was held in the United States for the second time, and Messi achieved a new record in the Copa América. He played his 35th match, surpassing Chile's Sergio Livingstone who had held the previous record from 1941 to 1953. Messi also set a new record for the most assists in the tournament, reaching a total of 18 assists.

On Monday, Messi, who is about to turn 37, set up the first goal by heading a pass to Alexis Mac Allister after a throw-in. Mac Allister then passed the ball to Álvarez, who scored despite colliding with the Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau. Álvarez found himself with an open net and managed to slide the ball past a defender for his eighth goal in 32 games for his national team.

Messi broke his own record for most assists in Copa América when he made a spectacular play in the midfield and passed the ball to Martínez, who scored his 25th goal for the national team.

Messi had a great opportunity to score in the 65th minute, but Crepeau made a fantastic save and Messi's follow-up shot was blocked by Derek Cornelius. In the 79th minute, Messi missed a chance to score when he shot wide after being one-on-one with Crepeau.

He was rattled by a tough tackle from defender Moïse Bombito in the 82nd minute, but he stayed in the match.

Argentina will be going up against Chile in a match on Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and will end the first round of games by playing against Peru on 29 June in Miami Gardens, Florida. Canada will be taking on Peru on Tuesday in Kansas City, Kansas, and will wrap up the group stage by facing Chile on 29 June in Orlando, Florida.

There are fourteen stadiums in the US where the tournament is taking place until June 14th. Six North and Central American and Caribbean nations have joined the 10 South American teams.

Despite starting off slowly, the Albiceleste managed to emerge victorious in their last two competitions. Argentina kicked off the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia and started the 2021 Copa América with a 1-1 tie against Chile.

Canada made their first appearance in Copa América and had their first official game with American coach Jesse Marsch, who was chosen as their coach a month ago. The team had a great opportunity when they challenged Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez in the 43rd minute. Martinez managed to stop a header from Stephen Eustáquio with his left hand.