The BreakDown

  Written By: Danny Albers  What began as a triumphant showing for Canada ended in heartbreak. Canada went toe to toe with one of the most elite and successful teams in international tournament play when they took Uruguay to penalties. The game in regulation was back and forth. Uruguay opened the scoring when Rodrigo Bentancúr scored a goal in the 8th minute. Uruguay didn’t have that 1-0 lead long. In the 22nd minute, Ismaël Koné scored to tie the game for Canada. Things would stay tied up all the way until the last 10 minutes of the game before things broke open and got wild. Canada outshot Uruguay in this game, and had a slight advantage in possession control. It looked like Canada was destined to win this game when Johnathan David scored in the 80th minute to give Canada a late 2-1 lead. But veteran Luis Suarez found a way to break through in stoppage time on a fast break, tying the game at 2 and sending the game to penalties. Once in penalties, Uruguay looked like the more...

  Written By: Danny Albers  The Semi-Finals have arrived in what has been a disappointing Copa America for fans of the US Men’s National Teams. To add salt to the wound, Canada has been on a run of a lifetime, and now has another crack at beating Argentina. Colombia made a statement in the semi’s and now look to cap off a run of a lifetime with some hardware. Let’s break down both Semi-Finals games from this week.  Argentina VS Canada Result: Argentina wins 2-0  Besides Drake betting $300K on Canada to beat Argentina, was there anybody who really thought Canada was going to beat the 2022 World Cup Champions. The result was underwhelmingly the same as Argentina once again shut out the Canadians by a score of 2-0. I have to give Canada credit, this was better than I think anybody could have imagined them fairing against Argentina on a big stage like Copa America. If Argentina beats Colombia in the final, we have to look at Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez as someone wh...

  Written By: Danny Albers  Colombia’s magical run would continue in the knockouts as they destroyed Panama. They were the only team that didn’t need penalties to narrowly survive their first knockout game. Ecuador gave Argentina a scare, Canada rallied to continue their breakout performance in the Copa’s, and Brazil got knocked out. Let’s break down each game.  Argentina VS Ecuador Result: Argentina wins 1-1 (4-2 in PK)  Argentina got a test that I don’t know if they were expecting. They pretty much ran through the group stage untouched. But Ecuador came to play in the knockouts, and in a lot of cases looked like the better team until we got to the PK shootout. Argentina got on the board in the 35th minute from a goal by Manchester United’s center back Lisandro Martinez. To Ecuador’s credit, although they were playing from behind for most of this game, they never stopped trying to find the back of the net. Argentina protected the 1-0 lead all the way to the final mi...

  Written By: Danny Albers  Group A  Canada VS Chile  Result: Draw 0-0 (Canada 1-1-1, 4 Points; Chile: 0-1-2, 2 Points)  Chile played the game with 10 men after Gabriel Suazo was given a second yellow card in the 27th minute. This was the story of Chile’s tournament. Poor refereeing was a topic of discussion from multiple games in this tournament, and Chile were one of the teams who felt like the referees were to blame for them not making it to the knockouts. In addition, Canada played a physical game, and in the 5th minute Canadian defender Moise Bombito elbowed Rodrigo Echevverria with no call. Canada pressed in the second minute of stoppage time with a goal from Tani Oluwaseyi but the call was called offside. Advancing to the knockout stages, Canada will attempt to beat a red hot Venezuelan team who won all 3 of their group stage games.  Argentina VS Peru  Result: Argentina wins 2-0 (Peru: 0-2-1, 1 Point; Argentina: 3-0-0, 9 Points)  No Messi, ...

  Written by: Danny Albers  The US Men’s National Team and Mexico brought the same disappointment in the 2nd round of the group stages. Brazil found their form as Colombia continued to dominate, setting up a matchup of true powerhouses. Lionel Messi was injured in a physical game with Chile, causing Argentina to have concern despite 2 straight victories in group A. Let’s take a look at each game from the 2nd round of the group stage.  Group A Peru VS Canada Result: Canada wins 1-0 (Canada: 1-1-0, 3 Points; Peru: 0-1-1, 1 Point)  One might have to ask if Canada would have been able to pull away if Miguel Araujo doesn’t get a red card in the 59th minute of this game, causing Peru to play down a man for most of the second half. Before that, it looked like Peru was going to win this game. They out shot Canada in this game, only allowing 2 shots on target, and Canada only had 1 corner. But Canada picked up the offensive production late in the game allowing Jonathan David ...

  Written By: Danny Albers  Group A  Argentina VS Canada   Result: Argentina wins 2-0 (Argentina: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Canada: 0-1-0, 0 Points)  Defending World Cup Champions Argentina took on Canada in the opener of the 2024 Copa America. The first half was not how Argentina intended to start. They were shaky, allowing the explosive Canadian offense to get some rushes and shots on goal. But nothing broke through. In the second half, Lionel Messi took over as the quarterback getting the assist on both Argentinian goals. He connected on an insane pass that was nearly deflected to Julián Álvarez in the 49th minute. Álvarez would find the back of the net with this chance as Argentina would take a 1-0. In the closing minutes of the game, Messi would do it again, this time finding Lautaro Martinez in the 88th minute, putting the nail in the coffin on Canada. Peru VS Chile Result: Draw 0-0 (Peru: 0-0-1, 1 Point; Chile: 0-0-1, 1 Point)  If you’re Peru, you want an ups...