some missed chances for canada but in the end they werent that threatening. argentinas defensive tactics, their instant aggressive pressure, are really good, and even with sort of flat performances offensively at this copa they seem too pragmatic to eliminate, not to mention the quality of finding some sort of incisive play at least once per 90 minutes hence their scoring record. they feel like champions and play with confidence, they know what they have to do in terms of dirty work but also provide great passing football, albeit less than at the WC. the only vulnerability i see is that after 70 minutes of playing so proactively, they are very tired, and cant keep up the same level of pressure. this aligns fully with their defensive record past 70 mins; think australia, netherlands, france, ecuador. if uruguay qualifies tomorrow things will be different because uruguay is a different monster to canada. messi: still decisive enough to keep his spot, wonder if itll be the same in 2026.
@Icarax I was lucky enough to see this game live and agree about how they get tired after 70. Di Maria was dead and messi runs only when he wants to. There was a strong sense that they were happy with a 2-0 and saving themselves for the finals. They are not as effective as they have been at the world cup but they have the quality for great plays like De Paul's assist and ofcourse Messi's play for the 2nd. I think Uruguay would actually be an easier opponent but them vs Argentina is always a disgusting matchup and will end up looking like their last game with Brazil. Colombia will beat uruguay anyway and its their intensity that will hopefully give us a great final.
remembering the group stage match between these 2 makes me think itll be a little closer than expected. the quality of the teams is still miles apart: argentina won 2-0 even being wasteful and canada didn't create all that much. still, argentina with an injured messi is relatively wasteful, and showed some (little) defensive vulnerabilities against ecuador. specifically, once theyre too tired to properly execute their aggressive pressure style defense. i dont think generally canada will be very threatening to these very solid arg tactics, whilst argentina do score basically every game, so my prediction is 1-0 but a 1-1 at FT wouldnt surprise me at all due to these thoughts.
Argentina have won 12 of their last 16 matches.They have also scored 1 or more goals in 19 of their last 20 matches.
some missed chances for canada but in the end they werent that threatening. argentinas defensive tactics, their instant aggressive pressure, are really good, and even with sort of flat performances offensively at this copa they seem too pragmatic to eliminate, not to mention the quality of finding some sort of incisive play at least once per 90 minutes hence their scoring record. they feel like champions and play with confidence, they know what they have to do in terms of dirty work but also provide great passing football, albeit less than at the WC. the only vulnerability i see is that after 70 minutes of playing so proactively, they are very tired, and cant keep up the same level of pressure. this aligns fully with their defensive record past 70 mins; think australia, netherlands, france, ecuador. if uruguay qualifies tomorrow things will be different because uruguay is a different monster to canada. messi: still decisive enough to keep his spot, wonder if itll be the same in 2026.
@Icarax Great comment. Keep it up. I cnt watch the matches but your comments give me an idea how argentina is doing in this competition?
@Icarax I was lucky enough to see this game live and agree about how they get tired after 70. Di Maria was dead and messi runs only when he wants to. There was a strong sense that they were happy with a 2-0 and saving themselves for the finals. They are not as effective as they have been at the world cup but they have the quality for great plays like De Paul's assist and ofcourse Messi's play for the 2nd. I think Uruguay would actually be an easier opponent but them vs Argentina is always a disgusting matchup and will end up looking like their last game with Brazil. Colombia will beat uruguay anyway and its their intensity that will hopefully give us a great final.
Argentina 2-0
Messi +100 / Alvarez +160 To Score Anytime
@KingKeno Ezzz
Argentina have conceded 1 or less goals in 9 of their last 10 matches
remembering the group stage match between these 2 makes me think itll be a little closer than expected. the quality of the teams is still miles apart: argentina won 2-0 even being wasteful and canada didn't create all that much. still, argentina with an injured messi is relatively wasteful, and showed some (little) defensive vulnerabilities against ecuador. specifically, once theyre too tired to properly execute their aggressive pressure style defense. i dont think generally canada will be very threatening to these very solid arg tactics, whilst argentina do score basically every game, so my prediction is 1-0 but a 1-1 at FT wouldnt surprise me at all due to these thoughts.
@Icarax don't worry, wont be surprises as FIFA looks over Argentina.
@Murdock38 if i was argentina and i paid fifa and thats the "advantage" they give me? im asking for my money back
Argentina 3-1 Canada
2-0 Arg