Match Thread: Copa America Group A - Matchday 1 - Argentina v Canada - June 20, 2024 - 8pm local time (ET) / 5pm PT

[Unnamed Trialist]

12 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

You gotta ask yourself why it was 1-0 after 85. Was it because of the way the team played overall or because - and now I'll use a hockey expression - Crepeau stood on his head?

It doesn't matter, vs a far superior team if you are in it late then it's a merit. 

According to Scaloni and their players, and the Argentine press, that stop on the Staq header was also world class. I was not so sure, it was fairly in the centre, but they felt they got away thanks to great keeping. David could not hit the net, Tajon had one, Larin got to a near post and the keeper did well, we had a shot from Shaff that Osorio softened, Davies tried to repeat his goal vs. Madrid, there was his free kick that hit the wall, then a rebound, we had ten total shots, 18 touches in their box, 4 corners, they fouled us far more than we did them..there are quite a few Canada attacking plays in there and statistical evidence that says you can't just look at one end and not the other. 

Edit we were also denied the Shaff free kick on the edge of the box because the ref and assistant were too cowardly to call it, fearing it was a penalty. That was a lack of integrity and robbed us of a free kick chance in deep.

Edited June 21 by Unnamed Trialist

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

10 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

So your mother accused you of lying all the time?

Mate, you literally said you would wait to judge then repeatedly go on  rants  - by your own admission - since. You are repeatedly lying to a bunch of strangers for no gain to yourself.

 

It's just comedy gold at this point

Edited June 21 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[BigMo]

9 hours ago, JAVIERF said:

Koné worst player on the pitch by Argentina media 

2nd bombito

I agree, one of worst games I’ve seen him play.

Harsh on Bombito though and likely influenced by tackle on Messi. He made some errors but still showed his potential against very difficult opposition.

[Unnamed Trialist]

One of the best things about last night is that Argentina will probably really turn it on vs. the next rivals, which should help us. So it is up to us and I think we can grab that second spot with 4 points and goal avg.

[JAVIERF]

Just now, BigMo said:

I agree, one of worst games I’ve seen him play.

Harsh on Bombito though and likely influenced by tackle on Messi. He made some errors but still showed his potential against very difficult opposition.

Wasn't him the one that got tricked in a evident pass and  allowed  "Noodle" go one on one ? 

[JAVIERF]

8 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

It doesn't matter, vs a far superior team if you are in it late then it's a merit. 

According to Scaloni and their players, and the Argentine press, that stop on the Staq header was also world class. I was not so sure, it was fairly in the centre, but they felt they got away thanks to great keeping. David could not hit the net, Tajon had one, Larin got to a near post and the keeper did well, we had a shot from Shaff that Osorio softened, Davies tried to repeat his goal vs. Madrid, there was his free kick that hit the wall, then a rebound, we had ten total shots, 18 touches in their box, 4 corners, they fouled us far more than we did them..there are quite a few Canada attacking plays in there and statistical evidence that says you can't just look at one end and not the other. 

Yes because was a clever header by a clever player .  Creapeau Johnston Cornelius Him Larin Davies David in patches and Eustaquio all play good football.  Millar was too preoccupied on covering teammates TBF. 

Canada change once Shaffelburg was brought in on the right. 

Again if an Argie was your coach Eustaquio Piette and him would be in the 11 all the time they are South American players over our eyes.

[PastPros]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jun/21/lionel-messi-copa-america-argentina-canada

 

So open, but so exciting, it was impossible to say whether Canada were playing three-dimensional chess or tic-tac-toe. What formation were Canada playing? What was the overarching gameplan? Who could tell. Maybe it was a sporting cousin of the disruptive mischief advocated by the political strategist Steve Bannon: flood the zone. Sow chaos to destabilize your enemy. Bend reality till it breaks.

Or was it the football equivalent of solving the world’s problems on a couch in the student hall of residence at 3am, 16 empty cans of Keystone at your feet. When the buzz finds the sweet spot the fuzziness feels like perfect clarity. The answers just flow.

Nominally in goal, Crépeau behaved as if he had discovered a canister of radioactive waste on his goal line and determined the best course of action was to move as far away as possible from his six-yard box.

Yet the longer the score remained even, and the closer Canada came to taking a shock lead, the more wary Argentina grew of their opponents and the more hesitant their performance became. Are they crazy to play like this … Or do they know something we don’t? Where did Canada’s center backs go? Is playing with no recognizable defensive line some weird Concacaf thing?

[InglewoodJack]

13 minutes ago, PastPros said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jun/21/lionel-messi-copa-america-argentina-canada

 

So open, but so exciting, it was impossible to say whether Canada were playing three-dimensional chess or tic-tac-toe. What formation were Canada playing? What was the overarching gameplan? Who could tell. Maybe it was a sporting cousin of the disruptive mischief advocated by the political strategist Steve Bannon: flood the zone. Sow chaos to destabilize your enemy. Bend reality till it breaks.

Or was it the football equivalent of solving the world’s problems on a couch in the student hall of residence at 3am, 16 empty cans of Keystone at your feet. When the buzz finds the sweet spot the fuzziness feels like perfect clarity. The answers just flow.

Nominally in goal, Crépeau behaved as if he had discovered a canister of radioactive waste on his goal line and determined the best course of action was to move as far away as possible from his six-yard box.

Yet the longer the score remained even, and the closer Canada came to taking a shock lead, the more wary Argentina grew of their opponents and the more hesitant their performance became. Are they crazy to play like this … Or do they know something we don’t? Where did Canada’s center backs go? Is playing with no recognizable defensive line some weird Concacaf thing?

Philosophy students should be banned from journalism. What the hell is this?

[JAVIERF]

37 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

It doesn't matter, vs a far superior team if you are in it late then it's a merit. 

According to Scaloni and their players, and the Argentine press, that stop on the Staq header was also world class. I was not so sure, it was fairly in the centre, but they felt they got away thanks to great keeping. David could not hit the net, Tajon had one, Larin got to a near post and the keeper did well, we had a shot from Shaff that Osorio softened, Davies tried to repeat his goal vs. Madrid, there was his free kick that hit the wall, then a rebound, we had ten total shots, 18 touches in their box, 4 corners, they fouled us far more than we did them..there are quite a few Canada attacking plays in there and statistical evidence that says you can't just look at one end and not the other. 

Edit we were also denied the Shaff free kick on the edge of the box because the ref and assistant were too cowardly to call it, fearing it was a penalty. That was a lack of integrity and robbed us of a free kick chance in deep.

It was a foul but it was outside the box it seemed.  But Lisandro yes tripped Shaffenburg.  

Big mistake by the ref

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

11 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Philosophy students should be banned from journalism. What the hell is this?

That's the Guardian a lot of the time.

 

And haven't we moved on from 3D chess - its so Star Trek TOS.  5D chess is where it's at these days. 

[archer21]

8 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Duthie was annoying me more immediately post-game, but Scianitti may have topped him with his appearance with late night appearance with Jay Onrait when he said that "I spoke to Alphonso Davies after the game and he said that the team needs to change its attitude.  And attitude has to mean finishing".

Yes, that's right. Canada being unable to score against the two World Cup finalists (who are obviously very easy to score against, as we saw with Austria popping 7 past France the other day in the Euros) while shutting them out for three halves is down to their attitude. If only Eustaquio had a better attitude, he would have beaten Martinez with that point-blank header.

I've watched a lot of of post-game coverage from various outlets, and TSN have easily been the harshest. It's like they are being paid off by Tactical Manager to be as out-to-lunch negative as possible. Compare TSN's negativity to this, for example:

 

Schianitti saying that to Shaff was ridiculous. Basically took Davies’ comment way out of context and made it seem like he was criticizing Canada harshly, which clearly caught Shaff off guard. Davies answered a question about how the attitude of “moral victories” (like the Belgium World Cup game) needs to change. Without that context, it just sounds like Davies is massively unhappy with the teams’ performance, which I don’t think is the case.

Edited June 21 by archer21

[RS]

1 hour ago, JAVIERF said:

That was a revenge you don't understand,  You tried to injure him one of our guys will kick one of yours )  that is football law

Except Davies was kicked first.

[blueseeka]

What a fun game. They played really well against the World Champs

Larin - probably had his best game in forever

David - such a great effort and support to the mids and forwards. They do need to find a way getting him more forward. There were points in the game were Tajon was playing in front of him

Miller - first time, we see him struggle getting by a defender. Was pretty quiet, other than a couple give and goes with Davies

Tajon - he was pretty invisible. Played well defending but I was happy to see Shaff

Kone - struggled versus pressure. But he was okay minus a couple bad giveaways including the breakaway. Has to be safer when no one is behind him defending

Eustaquio - solid game. Really wish he buried that header

Davies - Was surprised that Argentina seem to be picking on his side with Miller. Had a couple nice offensive moments

Johnston - thought Argentina would be attack more on his side. He had maybe his most solid game for Canada, in a long time. Looked more lively when Shaff replaced Tajon

Cornelius - so good. He has taken such a step forward with the CMNT. Looks like he belongs at this level. Covered up for Bombito and Davies really well

Bombito - Definitely wasn't his better game. But it has been amazing step up for him to play well in these games. So physical and fast. Very excited to have him and Cornelius moving forward to 2026

Crepeau - star making performance again

[Soro17]

9 minutes ago, RS said:

Except Davies was kicked first.

Indeed, only noble Argentina is entitled to revenge if blessed Messi is touched. The Messi frottage has always been, and will continue to be, maddening. Yes, he is a great player, probably the greatest player of all time, but do we have to proclaim this every time we pronounce his name lest we be accused of not being sufficiently grateful of his presence? It’s a bloody football match, sometimes there are bad tackles, especially late in games when players are getting stretched. Get over it. 

[spitfire]

47 minutes ago, JAVIERF said:

It was a foul but it was outside the box it seemed.  But Lisandro yes tripped Shaffenburg.  

Big mistake by the ref

Seemed to be a lot of “”MISTAKES”” by the ref last night 

[Corazon]

13 hours ago, Ally McCoist said:

 

 

This is the closest we'll get to a baddie.

Former U of T player...

[JAVIERF]

6 minutes ago, Soro17 said:

Indeed, only noble Argentina is entitled to revenge if blessed Messi is touched. The Messi frottage has always been, and will continue to be, maddening. Yes, he is a great player, probably the greatest player of all time, but do we have to proclaim this every time we pronounce his name lest we be accused of not being sufficiently grateful of his presence? It’s a bloody football match, sometimes there are bad tackles, especially late in games when players are getting stretched. Get over it. 

Agree with tackling etc,  but that tackle was two towns late, mate ,  

A really bad bad a carrer ending tackle  because he fixed his impetuous legs on messi's ankle , he even step on the ankle with the spuds.

Imagine Paul McGrath or Baresi doing that ?

[archer21]

Just now, JAVIERF said:

Agree with tackling etc,  but that tackle was two towns late, mate ,  

A really bad bad a carrer ending tackle  because he fixed his impetuous legs on messi's ankle , he even step on the ankle with the spuds.

Imagine Paul McGrath or Baresi doing that ?

He literally kicked the ball and his follow through caught Messi’s ankle. Idk how it could be late when Bombito got to the ball first.

[Unnamed Trialist]

14 minutes ago, Soro17 said:

Indeed, only noble Argentina is entitled to revenge if blessed Messi is touched. The Messi frottage has always been, and will continue to be, maddening. Yes, he is a great player, probably the greatest player of all time, but do we have to proclaim this every time we pronounce his name lest we be accused of not being sufficiently grateful of his presence? It’s a bloody football match, sometimes there are bad tackles, especially late in games when players are getting stretched. Get over it. 

In their qualifying cycles in Conmebol there are fouls like that almost every match, the rivals don't respect Argentina because they're god's gift to the game. Messi also saw 15 tackles like that from Ramos or Arbeloa, Michel Salgado, playing Clásicos. Twice a year vs. Espanyol. 

That comment about Bombito was ridiculous because they hacked Davies with no remorse knowing the ref would allow it and not show a yellow.

[JAVIERF]

1 minute ago, archer21 said:

He literally kicked the ball and his follow through caught Messi’s ankle. Idk how it could be late when Bombito got to the ball first.

The ball bounces off this fellow, his slow reaction led to the two towns late tackle expression.  Again 

Could you imagine a proper player as  McGrath or Baresi going down for that ? 

It was s career ending tackle .  He had the ball it rebounded off him

But he cant play center back in my view too nervous too exposed 

[Soro17]

1 minute ago, JAVIERF said:

The ball bounces off this fellow, his slow reaction led to the two towns late tackle expression.  Again 

Could you imagine a proper player as  McGrath or Baresi going down for that ? 

It was s career ending tackle .  He had the ball it rebounded off him

But he cant play center back in my view too nervous too exposed 

and yet, his career did not end. 

[JAVIERF]

2 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

In their qualifying cycles in Conmebol there are fouls like that almost every match, the rivals don't respect Argentina because they're god's gift to the game. Messi also saw 15 tackles like that from Ramos or Arbeloa, Michel Salgado, playing Clásicos. Twice a year vs. Espanyol. 

That comment about Bombito was ridiculous because they hacked Davies with no remorse knowing the ref would allow it and not show a yellow.

Argentina players are like Uruguayans and Italians ,  they are dirty streetwise strong and astute to kick someone 

Bombitó is not that astute.  And a bit of bad person as I say football expose you the way you are in life.  

Romero is a bully 

And Dibu Martinez is a smartass 

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

Philosophy students should be banned from journalism. What the hell is this?

You can always read the Daily Mail or the Sun. 

The Guardian has their regular writers, some of the best in the world, then let guys do blogging and the articles, on F1, rugby, any sport, have this very open, wild tone. They are meant to be a complement to the rest of their reporting.

[JAVIERF]

Argentina focused the match tactically on Eustaquio Scaloni knew Canada flow goes through him so he was pressed wherever he was.  He got bullied by Romero too with trash talk

[dyslexic nam]

Guys - just put this clown on mute.   Highly recommended.