In the summer of 1986, Diego Armando Maradona gave probably the most magical performance of one player in a major competition ever, but he would hardly have been able to win the world championship title if he didn’t have at least a few worthy helpers in the form of Jorge Valdano or Burruchaga. What the aforementioned guys were to El Pibe, Julián Alvarez is to Leo Messi. Perhaps the Manchester City striker’s role could best be described as “never the bride, always the bridesmaid”. Like many games in the previous few years, it was once again Julian who broke the opposition’s resistance and opened the way for Leo to reach the status of a deity among his compatriots.Alvarez scored for the lead in the 22nd minute, and then Messi took advantage of the indiscretion of Derek Cornelius at the beginning of the second half to make the final 2-0 against Canada in the semi-final game of Copa America. Argentina can calmly wait for the upcoming night and the second semi-final between Colombia and Uruguay. With his first goal of the tournament, Messi overtook Gabriel Batistuta for the number of goals in the continental competition. This is 14 for Leo, and Batigol has one less. Messi also became the first player in Copa America history to score at least one goal in six tournaments.Brazilian biggest nightmare is back: Uruguay advance to the Copa América semisFinally, the Argentinians played a game that was satisfying not only in terms of the style of play, but also in terms of results. For the first time at the 48th edition of the Copa America, the Albiceleste scored exactly when they needed to – in the middle of the first and at the beginning of the second half, and they did the most important job by neutralizing Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, as the two biggest stars of the Canadian team. Unlike the game against Ecuador, Emiliano Martinez was able to set up a tent in front of his own goal, and only in the last ten minutes did Dibu get a chance to warm up a bit and save a couple of rival shots.Rodrigo De Paul’s combativeness has never been in question, and in this game, he showed how useful he can be with a penetrating pass. The Atlético midfielder sent a beautiful ball towards Julián Alvarez in the heart of the penalty area, and one of the Argentinian charms from the edge of the box put the Gauchos in the lead with a shot from ten meters.
The Argentinians did not hesitate to bring closure as soon as possible, Scaloni’s team pulled together as best they could and removed all doubts already in the 51st minute. Enzo Fernandez’s shot caught Messi in front of Canada’s goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, and although it actually looked like the diminutive master might be offside, this was not the case because Cornelius fell behind. More than 80,000 spectators at the stadium in New Jersey witnessed Messi’s 109th goal in the shirt with the national emblem, and his sixth in the semi-final matches of the Copa America. The fact that he scored for the first time in this round of the competition back in 2007 in the match against Mexico also speaks of Leo’s longevity.Argentina’s golden generation still has 90 minutes to add to the historical pages and annals in which it has entered, and a final against Uruguay or Colombia could return the Gauchos to the throne for the number of Copa America titles. Currently, Argentina and Uruguay are tied for first place with 14 cups each, and back in 1995, the Urus could boast the information that they are the most trophy-winning team on the continent.COPA AMERICASemifinalsWednesdayArgentina – Canada 2-0 (1-0)/Alvarez 22, Messi 51/Thursday03:00: (2.80) Colombia (2.95) Uruguay (2.85)***odds are subject to change***