With Lionel Messi sidelined by injury and their captain on the bench, Argentina cruised into the quarterfinals of the Copa America 2024 with a three-game unbeaten streak.
Argentina defeated Peru 2-0 on Tuesday (Sept. 30) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, U.S., in the final Group A match of the tournament, thanks to a multi-goal performance from Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan).
Argentina, who booked their place in the quarterfinals early by beating Canada 2-0 in the first leg and Chile 1-0 in the second, kept a clean sheet against Peru to boost their title hopes.
Argentina, who won the 2021 tournament, will be looking to make it two in a row.
Messi, who played full time in both the first and second games, missed the match with a thigh injury.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was benched after serving a one-match suspension for failing to get his players back on the field in time after halftime in games one and two.
Against this backdrop, the reigning Serie A Most Valuable Player (MVP) and top scorer of the 2023-2024 season, Lautaro Martinez, led Argentina to victory.
Martinez opened the scoring in the second minute of the second half with a chip shot off a penetrating pass from Angel Di Maria.
Leandro Paredes’ penalty kick hit the right post in the 27th minute to give Argentina a precarious one-goal lead, but it wasn’t until Martinez’s second goal that they took full control.
Martinez made it 2-0 in the 41st minute of the second half when he beat a defender and found himself one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper before calmly firing a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
Martinez extended his goal streak to three games and moved into sole possession of the top scoring spot with four goals in the tournament.
Canada advanced to the quarterfinals as the second-place team in the group behind Argentina after a 0-0 draw with Chile in the final match, which kicked off at the same time.
Canada lost the first leg against Argentina and won the second leg 1-0 against Peru.
They reached the quarterfinals by playing salty soccer, scoring just one goal and conceding one in three games, amassing four points (W1 D1 L1). 카지노사이트 추천