(Football news) Following ninety minutes of play that ended in a 1-1 draw, La Albiceleste defeated Ecuador and the Canucks defeated Venezuela to advance to the semi-finals in penalty shootouts.
In the end, Argentina defeated Ecuador in the round of eight, albeit it required some amazing goalkeeping from the colorful Emiliano Martinez.
After making it beyond this round in seven of their previous eight attempts, the Argentines will be making their fifth consecutive trip to the tournament’s semi-finals on Tuesday. They lost to Brazil in 2019 (2-0).
A semi-final triumph would mark the first time they make the Copa America final as the defending champions since 1959, when two editions of the tournament transpired in that same year, and the Argentines finished as runners-up the second go around.
Lionel Scaloni’s men have only conceded once in this competition but have not maintained a clean sheet in the Copa America semi-finals since it previously took place in the United States in 2016, when they defeated the hosts 4-0.
Argentina have not lost in normal time of a major tournament on US soil since Romania beat them 3-2 in the round of 16 at the 1994 World Cup.
La Seleccion can stretch their undefeated run to 10 matches across all competitions on Tuesday, conceding only three goals over that stretch.
Since losing their first match in this tournament to the Argentines (2-0), the Canucks have grown by leaps and bounds, conceding just once in their last three fixtures.
Jesse Marsch’s men are only the third CONCACAF team to qualify for the semi-finals of this tournament in their debut appearance (Honduras and Mexico) and the first in the region to make it this far since the USA in 2016.
This upcoming game will be the fifth time the Canadians are in the semi-finals of a continental tournament this century, and they have only advanced beyond this stage on two of those occasions, in the 2023 Nations League (2-0 over Panama) and the 2000 Gold Cup (1-0 over Trinidad and Tobago).
Not since the 2001 Copa America have we seen a CONCACAF nation advance into the final of this competition, when Mexico were narrowly beaten by Colombia (1-0) after defeating Uruguay in the semis (2-1).
Les Rouges have shown more defensive stability since being picked apart by the Netherlands in a pre-tournament friendly (4-0), conceding three goals in their last five encounters across all competitions.
In their last nine competitive fixtures, the Canadians have not conceded an opening-half strike but have been outscored by a combined 7-1 margin in the final 45 minutes of their last six games.
Although they have lost both of their previous encounters with Argentina by a 7-0 margin, their 2-0 loss to them in the opening match at the Copa America is the only time the Canucks have lost to a CONMEBOL side in a continental tournament this century.
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