Lionel Messi was left "very angry" with his miss in Argentina's penalty shoot-out victory over Ecuador in the Copa America quarter-finals.
La Albiceleste progressed to the semi-finals after a dramatic contest at the NRG Stadium in a game where Kevin Rodriguez's injury-time leveller ensured the contest would go the distance in a 1-1 draw after Lisandro Martinez's first-half opener.
The legendary Messi was first to step up for his team but saw a dinked penalty hit the crossbar. Thankfully for the 37-year-old, Emiliano Martinez saved penalties from Angel Mena and Alan Minda as Argentina triumphed 4-2 in the shoot-out.
Speaking after the game, Messi told reporters: "I was very angry, I was convinced that I would take it like that.
"I had spoken with Dibu (Martinez), with (Geronimo) Rulli, I had taken a couple of penalties. I hadn't practised, but I spoke with them.
"I had been taking several cross-shots, in fact the goalkeeper dived for a cross-shot, I tried to touch it and it went high."
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni was quick to absolve his talisman of any blame when addressing a press conference.
"He played like the rest of the team, we are a team. This is a team, if the team played well, he played well. We have never separated the individual from the collective," he said.
Messi missed Argentina's final group game against Peru through injury but Scaloni insists that did not have an impact on his performance, adding: "Leo had a good game, in the end, they also planned a game or system where when we had the ball, two defenders came to attack, so, this is a chess game. He has had seven days away, we didn't notice the inactivity mentioned in the question."
Martinez was named Player of the Match and has now won all four of the shoot-outs he has been involved in with Argentina. The Aston Villa goalkeeper is adamant there is no luck involved with that statistic.
"I work for that, I throw myself 500 times a day in training," Martinez said.
"I try to be at my best level for the national team because the country deserves it, the people who spend their money to come and watch us."
Argentina v Canada: Marsch says Copa underdogs need greatest performance yet
Canada must produce the performance of their lives to have any chance of upsetting holders Argentina to reach the Copa America final, acknowledges Jesse Marsch.
Marsch's team will face the World Cup winners for a final berth at the MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, having overcome Venezuela in a penalty shoot-out in the last eight.
They are just the fourth CONCACAF team to reach the Copa semi-finals and the third to do so on their debut, after Mexico (1993 runners-up), Honduras (third in 2001) and the United States (third in 1995).
They face the sternest of tests next up, however, having already lost to Lionel Messi and the rest of Argentina's stars in their opening group-stage game.
Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez were on target in that match as Lionel Scaloni's team triumphed 2-0 in Atlanta, rifling off 19 shots worth 3.02 expected goals (xG) to Canada's 10 (1.16 xG).
While Canada have won plenty of admirers on their run to the last four, Marsch knows they need to step up further on Tuesday.
"Argentina will have to be the best match we've ever played and it still might not be enough," he said. "But whatever. We're going to go for it."
Captain Alphonso Davies echoed those sentiments but pointed out Canada had given Argentina a scare in their earlier game, saying: "It's going to take everything. We played them in the group stage and we played well but didn't get the win we wanted."
Argentina boss Scaloni hit out at the quality of the pitch after that earlier meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Messi says the surfaces have had an impact throughout the tournament.
"The pitch always has an influence. It's a reality that the pitches aren't good," he told reporters, as quoted by The Athletic.
"I think the best one was the one in Miami, which was good from what you saw from the outside at least. It's natural and that's already different. Of course, it has an influence."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Argentina – Alexis Mac Allister
Mac Allister assisted Lisandro Martinez's opener versus Ecuador in the last eight, then held his nerve from the spot as the world champions triumphed in a shoot-out after a 1-1 draw.
The Liverpool midfielder has two assists at this year's tournament. Since such data began in 2011, only Lionel Messi (in 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2021) has ever provided three or more assists for Argentina at a single edition of the Copa America.
Mac Allister has completed 122 of his 135 passes at this tournament, with 70 of those being played in the opposition half. With Canada likely to sit deep, it could fall on him to keep things ticking over and provide service for Messi and his fellow attackers.
Canada – Maxime Crepeau
Crepeau was forced into six saves in Canada's Copa America opener versus Argentina, and he could be busy again here.
However, he has been in excellent form throughout this tournament, conceding three goals from 4.95 expected goals on target (xGoT) faced, with only Claudio Bravo (3.66 goals prevented) and Rafael Romo (2.36) overperforming their underlying goalkeeping statistics by a greater margin.
Only Sergio Rochet and Emiliano Martinez (three each) have bettered his two clean sheets at this tournament. He will have his work cut out to keep another, though.
MATCH PREDICTION: ARGENTINA WIN
Argentina have now reached the semi-finals at seven of their last eight major tournaments, with the 2018 World Cup being the only exception.
They have won their last 10 matches against CONCACAF opponents in official competitions, not conceding a goal in any of their last six such games.
Additionally, the defending champions have reached the last four at five of the last seven editions of the Copa America, and only two of them – Colombia in 2004 and Chile in 2019 – failed to make the final. The omens, then, are not good for Canada.
It will be the fifth time Argentina have faced the same opponents twice at a single edition of the Copa America since the current format was introduced in 1993. Two of the previous four instances included a semi-final meeting (Colombia in 1993 and Paraguay in 2015), with the other two including the final (Mexico in 1993 and Chile in 2016).
La Albiceleste did, however, only win one of those four editions, lifting the trophy in 1993, then waiting 28 years to reclaim their place as South America's finest in 2021.
They are assigned an 84% chance of reaching the final by the Opta supercomputer, with Canada out to cause one of the greatest upsets in the history of the competition.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Argentina – 76.7%
Canada – 9.8%
Draw – 13.6%
Bayern complete Olise signing as Palace winger moves to Bundesliga
Bayern Munich have signed winger Michael Olise from Crystal Palace on a five-year deal worth around £45m plus £5m in add-ons.
Olise ends a three-year stay at Selhurst Park having joined from Reading back in 2021.
The Frenchman, who is currently on international duty with France ahead of the Paris Olympics, made 90 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 16 times, 10 of which came last season.
Olise becomes Vincent Kompany's fourth signing since taking over in May, following Hiroki Ito, Bryan Zaragoza, Nestory Irankunda and Armindo Sieb through the doors at the Allianz Arena.
“The talks with FC Bayern were very positive, and I’m very happy to now be playing for such a big club," Olise said upon signing with the 33-time Bundesliga champions.
"It's a great challenge, and that's exactly what I was looking for.
"I want to prove myself at this level and play my part in ensuring that we win as many titles as possible with our team in the coming years.”
Olise is seen as an integral part of new boss Kompany's plans as he looks to overhaul the side that finished second behind Bayer Leverkusen last season, ending a run of 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles.
Christoph Freund, Bayern's sporting director said: “Michael is quick, tricky, a goal threat and very versatile in attack. His goals and assists stats are already outstanding.
"At the age of 22, Michael is already very advanced, but is also hungry and still has a lot of potential. Fans come to the stadium to see players like Michael Olise.”
Bayern are also set to complete the signing of Fulham's Joao Palhinha in a deal worth £42m plus £4m in add-ons.
Deschamps launches defence of Mbappe as France forward aims for history at Euro 2024
Kylian Mbappe may not be firing on all cylinders but Didier Deschamps says the France captain is aiming for "even more history" at Euro 2024.
The Real Madrid-bound forward has scored just once at the tournament in Germany from 20 attempts, a penalty against Poland in Les Bleus' final group game.
Mbappe has managed just one goal overall from 34 shots at the European Championships, a contrast to his record at the World Cup, where he has scored 12 goals from 39 efforts.
Yet in this edition of UEFA's top international tournament, the former Paris Saint-Germain star has been hampered by a broken nose that has forced him to wear a protective mask when playing.
The 25-year-old has repeatedly cited his frustrations at wearing the protective equipment, which some have suggested explains a downturn in form.
Deschamps fired back at his critics, however, lauding the France international ahead of Tuesday's semi-final meeting with Spain in Munich.
"Don't you think he has already made enough history, with what he has done so far? He wants to make even more history," the France boss said, in an interview quoted by Telefoot.
"We did everything we could with him, with the medical staff, to get him to be here. During the preparation, he had a little back problem, too, but Kylian is here.
"Even if he's not 100%, I know very well that for the opponent, knowing he's playing makes them think and forces them to adapt."
Mbappe's form perhaps explains why there have only been four goals scored in France's five Euro 2024 matches (three for, one against), with those either penalties (two) or own goals (two).
Indeed, none of the 128 non-penalty shots have found the back of the net in those games (86 for France, 42 for opponents).
France are also the only team on record since 1980 to have more than 50 non-penalty shots at a Euros tournament without scoring with any of those attempts.
Deschamps and Mbappe will be desperate to end that drab run when Les Bleus face an in-form Spain side, battling for a place in the final against either the Netherlands or England.
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