Argentina vs. Canada final score, result: Lionel Messi's side ease to opening victory thanks to Alvarez and Martinez

Argentina vs. Canada final score, result: Lionel Messi's side ease to opening victory thanks to Alvarez and Martinez

Argentina opened their bid to defend the Copa America title with a comfortable 2-0 win over Canada in Atlanta after goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.

Alvarez gave the reigning champions the lead a few moments into the second half, thanks to the work ethic of Alexis Mac Allister and a beautifully weighted ball from none other than Lionel Messi. The Inter Miami star played an inch-perfect pass for the Liverpool midfielder to reach and poke the ball diagonally to Alvarez, who tapped home into the back of an empty net.

It was the 24-year-old's first ever-goal in the competition and his first for La Albiceleste since his semifinal brace against Croatia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

MLS' superstar Messi then somehow failed to score himself, much to the disbelief of the 70,564 Atlanta crowd, as Maxime Crepeau made a fine save, before Messi cheekily tried to chip the Canadian goalkeeper. Fortunately for him, his defender Derek Cornelius blocked the effort and held Argentina to just a one-goal lead.

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Messi was then played through on goal once again but uncharacteristically lofted the ball over the keeper wide of the post. After several missed chances, you got the feeling it just wasn't his night. That was until he delightfully played through Martinez, who slotted through the legs of the Canadian goalkeeper with two minutes left to double their lead and secure victory on the opening night.

Messi made history by becoming the player with the most appearances in the Copa America — playing his 35th game across seven editions of the tournament, and surpassing the previous record held by Chilean goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone since 1953.

Messi's journey at this tournament began at the age of 20, and he has since gone on to win the title in 2021, finish a runner-up three times, and secure a third-place finish in 2019.

Argentina next face Chile in a rematch of the 2016 final at MetLife Stadium on June 25.

Argentina vs. Canada final score

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA)

Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)

Starting lineups:

Argentina XI (4-3-3): 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 26. Molina, 13. Romero, 25. Li. Martinez, 8. Acuna — 7. De Paul, 5. Paredes, 20. Mac Allister — 10. Messi, 9. Alvarez, 11. Di Maria.

Canada XI (4-4-2): 16. Crepeau (GK) — 2. Johnston, 15. Bombito, 13. Cornelius, 19. Davis — 17. Buchanan, 8. Kone, 7. Eustaquio, 23. Millar — 9. Larin, 10. David.

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Argentina vs. Canada live updates, highlights for 2024 Copa America

FT: That's it from Atlanta as Argentina comfortably breezes past Canada thanks to a spirited second-half performance.

90+5 minute: A late Messi free-kick is collected with ease and that's the last play of the game.

90th minute: There will be five minutes of added time to play.

88th minute: GOALLLLL! Argentina double their lead and it's the substitute Lautaro Martinez who slips the ball under the legs of Crepeau.

83rd minute: Messi is down injured and the crowd holds its breath. After treatment, he gets to his feet and appears to be walking okay.

80th minute: Otamendi strayed offside and headed wide from a Messi free-kick.

77th minute: Another opportunity passes Messi by as he lofts the ball over Crepeau but sends it wide. Just not his night so far.

74th minute: Davies finds space down the left and cuts onto his right but slashes an effort wide. He was almost certainly trying to replicate his goal vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinal a couple of months ago.

71st minute: Some might say, Martinez is lucky to have escaped a red card there as he showed his studs when tackling Shaffelburg on the fringe of the penalty box.

65th minute: Messi denied twice! The crowd can't quite believe how he hasn't scored. Crepeau makes a fine save before the Argentine striker attempts a cheeky chip over the Canadian keeper, but fortunately for him Cornelius was there to make the block.

62nd minute: Canada's latest corner fails to beat the first man and is cleared.

54th minute: It appears as though the floodgates may open following that strike as Argentina surges forward for a second but their latest effort is a long-range one and it's way over the crossbar.

49th minute: GOALLL! It's the perfect start to the second half for Argentina. Alvarez taps home into the back of an empty net as Mac Allister pips Crepeau to the ball and tees up the Man City forward with the easiest of tap-ins.

46th minute: We're back underway for the second half!

HT: That's all from a relatively slow first half of action to kick off 2024 Copa America. Canada have, however, looked dangerous on the counter and really could have taken the lead right before the halftime whistle.

43rd minute: The best chance of the game falls to Canada! It's great work down the right as Larin whips in a cross for Kone to get his head on it and forces Martinez into an amazing save. Davies then smashes the rebound wide.

38th minute: Mac Allister gets free in the box and heads the ball goalward but it's into the ground which makes for an easy save by Crepeau. He's yet to be tested.

30th minute: Davies finally uses his blistering pace to beat Molina and puts a tantalising ball into the box but Buchanan snatches at the chance and puts it wide.

24th minute: Davies has a free-kick for Canada in a dangerous position but it's a wasted chance as it hits the wall.

17th minute: Di Maria picks out Messi in the box, who was played well onside, but the Argentine #10 has his shot blocked.

9th minute: CHANCE! A glorious opening for Di Maria as he's in on goal after picking the pocket of a Canada player but Crepeau's positioning is fantastic to make the save.

5th minute: Paredes tries his luck from distance but it sails over the bar.

3rd minute: A couple of good early chances for Canada but Romero makes the block on David's strike.

1st minute: After two wonderful renditions of the teams' national anthems, we are underway in Atlanta!

5 mins to kickoff: Feid's opening ceremony is complete...kickoff is next!

15 mins to kickoff: Messi's welcome was something else.

20 mins to kickoff: Warm ups are complete and the opening ceremony is about to begin...

30 mins to kickoff: Messi leads his team out and this place erupts! It's nearly impossible to find an Argentina jersey in the crowd without his name on the back.

45 mins to kickoff: The Canada team has just come out to warm up along with the Argentine goalkeeping squad.

1 hour to kickoff: One pretty insane feature of Argentina matches is that it sees the largest volume of one player's jersey worn by fans on location. It's something that's hard to get used to seeing in person. Messi is massive.

1 hour 15 mins to kickoff: We have the team news! Messi, of course, starts for the reigning champs. There are no surprises for Canada, with Jesse Marsch electing to choose Maxime Crepeau in goal.

Argentina confirmed XI (4-3-3): 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 26. Molina, 13. Romero, 25. Li. Martinez, 8. Acuna — 7. De Paul, 5. Paredes, 20. Mac Allister — 10. Messi, 9. Alvarez, 11. Di Maria.

Canada confirmed XI (4-4-2): 16. Crepeau (GK) — 2. Johnston, 15. Bombito, 13. Cornelius, 19. Davis — 17. Buchanan, 8. Kone, 7. Eustaquio, 23. Millar — 9. Larin, 10. David.

1 hour 25 mins to kickoff: The atmosphere is building nicely and we have our first roar from the crowd as Messi arrives and heads to the locker room.

1 hour 30 mins to kickoff: While there’s no question whether Messi will captain the side in the 2024 Copa America opener, there is some mystery around how the rest of the Argentina side will line up. Lionel Scaloni found international glory with the 4-3-3 formation at the 2021 Copa America and has stuck with that ever since, to great success, winning the 2022 World Cup and enjoying a run of global dominance.

Yet he tinkered with the formation in the warmup friendlies, deploying what effectively served as a lopsided 4-4-2 with winger Nico Gonzalez at left-back. It’s not clear whether that was short-term experimentation or a sign of a longer-term change.

2 hours to kickoff: Welcome to The Sporting News' live minute-by-minute coverage of Argentina vs. Canada! We are on-hand at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to bring you every single moment of this match from now all the way through the post-game press conference. We'll also have coverage of the opening ceremony, which is expected to start around an hour before kickoff.

Argentina vs. Canada kickoff time

This Copa America 2024 match kicks off from Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday, June 20 at 8 p.m. local time in Atlanta, GA. Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:

Copa America 2024 Group A standings

Argentina vs. Canada lineups, team news, starting 11

Lionel Scaloni experimented with different formations in the pre-tournament friendlies, but deviating from the wildly successful 4-3-3 in the Copa America itself would be risky. Lionel Messi will be good to go with the captain's armband, while there are questions whether Lautaro Martinez or Julian Alvarez will play up top as central striker.

Defender Lisandro Martinez had his fair share of injuries for Manchester United in 2023/24 but returned for the FA Cup final and started both warm-up games. Nicolas Otamendi may be saved for the Olympics after looking slow in the tune-up against Guatemala. Argentine journalist Gaston Edul reported that Leandro Paredes will start in midfield, meaning one of Enzo Fernandez or Alexis Mac Allister will likely be left out of the XI.

Argentina projected starting lineup (4-4-2): E. Martinez (GK) — Moilna, Romero, L. Martinez, Gonzalez — De Paul, Paredes, E. Fernandez, Mac Allister — Messi, Alvarez.

Argentina subs (max 15): Matchday squad released one hour prior to kickoff

Since Jesse Marsch took charge of the national team, they've used a 4-4-2 formation with Canada all-time leading goal scorer Cyle Larin alongside coveted Lille striker Jonathan David leading the attack.

Inter Milan's Tajon Buchanan has been utilized out on the right, with Derek Cornelius commanding from the back.

Canada projected starting lineup (4-4-2): Crepeau (GK) — Johnston, Bombito, Cornelius, Davies — Buchanan, Kone, Eustaquio, Millar — David, Larin.

Canada subs (max 15): Matchday squad released one hour prior to kickoff

Argentina vs. Canada live stream, TV channel

USA: Argentina vs. Canada from Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be televised in the United States on FS1, with a Spanish-language broadcast via TUDN and Univision. All those channels are available to stream on Fubo with the latter offering a FREE seven-day trial.

Radio coverage of the match can be followed on SiriusXM FC.

Canada: Copa America matches can be seen in Canada on TSN's respective TV channel and live streaming services. This match will also be broadcast on CTV Two, with a French-language broadcast on RDS 2.

If this match is not available to watch live in your location, or if you’re traveling abroad, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure and private online connection, allowing you to bypass geographical restrictions to access your favorite streaming services from any device anywhere in the world.

UK: In the UK, the 2024 Copa America will be broadcast by Premier Sports on their television and streaming platforms.

Australia: Australia's streaming home for the Copa America, as well as Euro 2024, is Optus Sport.

If the Argentina vs. Canada match is not available to watch live in your location, or if you’re traveling abroad, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure and private online connection, allowing you to bypass geographical restrictions to access your favorite streaming services from any device anywhere in the world.