Stuart's Copa América 2024 Series 8: Games 9 & 10

Match 9 - Canada 1-0 Peru
With neither team being in a vein of goal scoring form this game was steadily progressing to a 0-0 draw which would have neither surprised not pleased anyone. Lapadula had a first half strike ruled out for offside, and Canada's Crépeau saved a sharp shot from Quispe. Things moved in Canada's favour when Araujo recieved a red card in the 59th minute for a bad challenge. Fifteen minute's later they broke a Peruvian attack and moved swiftly up field. Shaffelberg placed a cross with precision and David slid the ball past Gallese.

Match 10 - Argentina 1-0 Chile
Rarely will a team be so utterly dominant and have so little to show for it. An 88th minute goal for a 1-0 victory has all the hallmarks of a dull and lifeless game but here Argentina had nearly two-thirds of possession and 22 shots, 9 of them on target. Chile, on the other hand, managed only 3 shots, the first in the 74th minute when a frustrated Argentina were beginning to wonder if it was going to be one of THOSE days. But finally, from their 11th corner of the game, Argentina scored. Messi, who had delighted with his silky skills if not his pace, came into the box, Bravo blocked the resulting shot, but Lautaro Martinez slapped the rebound into the net. Two wins from Two means Argentina can start looking forward to the next round.

Tomorrows two matches are:

text by stuartcturnbull art by CONMEBOL & altered by stuartcturnbull