JUST as election results were coming in thick and fast in the early hours of this morning in Britain, and as US skies were filled with fireworks to celebrate July 4, Lionel Messi was sending a panenka-style penalty kick over the bar in Argentina’s Copa America quarter-final tie with Ecuador.
There was a lot going on. A lot to take in. Argentina had already struggled to get past Ecuador, just about surviving a late surge from their opponents including the added-time equaliser from Kevin Rodriguez that meant the game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.
There is no extra time in the Copa America knockout rounds until the final itself, so the game went straight to penalties.
Messi once again revealed that taking penalties might be the one weakness in his attacking play, but as is often the case for Argentina in these situations, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez came to the rescue.
He saved the first two Ecuador penalties before successful spot-kick conversions from Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Otamendi sent Argentina through to the semi-final in New Jersey as expected, even if not in the manner they expected.
Even more underwhelming than an Argentina team yet to hit their stride, have been Brazil. There is not the aura there once was around those canary yellow shirts, and they could only draw with Costa Rica and Colombia in their group.
There was some sign of life from Dorival Junior’s side in a 4-1 win against Paraguay. Vinicius Junior is a genuine elite talent and scored twice in that game, but he will miss their quarter-final after picking up two yellow cards.
Finishing second in their group behind Colombia means Brazil meet runaway Group C winners Uruguay in a heavyweight quarter-final tie.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team have arguably been the standout team in the tournament so far. They have been winning mostly with ease in a tournament where even the favourites have found winning difficult.
Uruguay didn’t really need to win their last group game, against the United States, to top their group, but they did anyway thanks to a goal from Mathias Olivera.
The United States, on the other hand, were desperate to win. There was a lot at stake for Gregg Berhalter and his side, not least avoiding the ignominy of going out in the group stage as hosts.
Having to defeat Uruguay in the final group game was their worst-case scenario. A 2-1 defeat to Panama cost the US, having had to play the majority of that game with ten men after Tim Weah was sent off inside the opening 20 minutes.
Their only points came from their game against a poor Bolivia side, and questions will now be asked as to whether Berhalter is the coach to continue leading them during this crucial period culminating in co-hosting the World Cup in 2026.
The answer from most quarters appears to be that he isn’t, although the official verdict from the US Soccer Federation is yet to arrive.
One American did progress to the quarter-finals. Former Leeds United coach Jesse Marsch is now in charge of Canada and guided them through a group containing Argentina, Chile and Peru.
Their progress was as much down to Chile’s inability to beat Peru as anything else, but Marsch’s side went into last night’s quarter-final against Venezuela fancying their chances.
The football data providers Statsbomb worked out a measure for “aggression” which takes into account tackling, pressing or fouls within two seconds of an opponent receiving the ball.
Canada were the third-best team in the tournament’s group stage for this metric, behind Argentina and top team Uruguay.
Venezuela will be no pushovers in the quarter-final, though, having proved as much in the group stage and also in their performances in Conmebol’s 2026 World Cup qualifying section so far.
La Vinotinto challenged Uruguay for the title of team of the tournament in the group stage, and if Canada fancied their chances in the quarter-final, then Venezuela certainly did and will have gone into the game as favourites.
“What we experienced in the first round is all well and good, but it’s over now,” said Venezuela coach Fernando Batista.
“Nothing has been achieved yet. We are a growing team that knows that our next final is [on Friday].
“Defensively, Canada is strong and aggressive. And they have a lot of strengths in midfield.
“There is still a long way to go. Now a new tournament starts, because you can’t rely on a draw or a previous result.”
The winner of Venezuela v Canada will be rewarded with a semi-final against Argentina at the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that will host the 2026 World Cup final.
On the other side of the Bracket, Colombia or Panama will face the winners of Brazil and Uruguay in the other semi-final in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the final being held in Miami. Or as it is currently known in the football world, Lionel Messi’s Miami.
It remains to be seen whether Lionel Messi’s Argentina will make it that far, though, and as shown so far, there are no easy games in the Copa America.
