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• Vancouver Whitecaps v St. Louis City: Sartini calls for courage in Canada

  A defiant Vanni Sartini believes Vancouver Whitecaps are on the right track, but called for more confidence and courage when St. Louis City visit in MLS.

  The Whitecaps endured a disappointing two-game road stretch, culminating in their 2-0 defeat to Portland Timbers last time out.

  That loss saw Vancouver drop to ninth in the Western Conference standings, only clinging onto the final playoff spot by way of a superior goal difference over Seattle Sounders.

  Sartini acknowledged the frustrations of the last two showings, though suggests the Whitecaps can get back on course at BC Place.

  "The concerns are always there, even if you win," Sartini said at pre-match media availability.

  "It sounds very easy to say, but we just need to be a little better. That means a lot of things, however. Our performance hasn't gone down dramatically.

  "The efficiency of our performances has gone down dramatically, though. We need to be better at finishing our chances, and being mentally stronger.

  "The last couple of games before the break, we had two strong mental performances [in Kansas and Colorado]. Even though we weren't playing amazingly, we weren't making mistakes.

  "The last two games away, we created more chances than in the games before, but we have been too easy to beat, we get a little flat when we hit the first trouble of those matches.

  "We need to be more confident, courageous and more like: 'let's focus on the task'. If we are doing this, then the margin to make a lot of points is shorter."

  Bradley Carnell's visitors are winless in their last eight domestic outings following a 1-1 draw with Atlanta United in their most recent fixture.

  St. Louis are just three places behind the Whitecaps, though, with this the chance to strike a blow to their hosts' playoff hopes.

  Carnell must arrest a poor spell in front of goal, however, as St. Louis have scored the second-fewest goals in the West this season (24).

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Vancouver Whitecaps – Ryan Gauld

  Ryan Gauld has followed up his 11-goal 2023 with nine goals already this season.

  With one more goal, Gauld will become the third Whitecaps player with multiple 10-goal seasons (Camilo Sanvezzo, Brian White) and the first to do so in consecutive campaigns.

  St. Louis City – Indiana Vassilev

  Indiana Vassilev scored his fifth regular-season goal for St. Louis on Saturday, becoming the sixth different player to hit the mark for the club in league play.

  Only three teams have more players with five or more regular-season goals than St. Louis since they joined the league in 2023 (Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United, FC Cincinnati – seven each).

  MATCH PREDICTION – VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

  The Whitecaps are the likely favourites for a narrow victory in this one, owing to St. Louis' woeful away form.

  Carnell's side have managed only three wins in 26 games on the road in all competitions (drawn eight, lost 15) since winning their first three away matches in club history between February and March 2023.

  Yet, it will be by no means straightforward for Vancouver.

  They have lost consecutive matches following the defeat to Portland on Saturday, but Vancouver have not suffered three straight defeats within a single regular season since August-September 2022.

  There is little to split these two teams in terms of the head-to-head record, with each side recording a home win against the other in two meetings between Vancouver and St. Louis City last season.

  The hosts scored three goals in each game, while Brian White scored in both outings for the Whitecaps.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Vancouver Whitecaps win – 51.1%

  Draw – 24.8%

  St. Louis City win – 24%

• 'I knew it could be good' - Sabitzer proud after earning Austria top spot

  Marcel Sabitzer is proud of not only his winning goal, but also the strength Austria showed in their 3-2 victory over the Netherlands on Tuesday.

  Ralf Rangnick's side were drawn into a group including pre-tournament favourites France, the Netherlands and Poland, and few expected them to come out on top.

  However, after narrowly losing their opening to Les Bleus, Austria beat Poland 3-1 before Sabitzer struck the winner – his first goal at the European Championships – against the Netherlands to see them finish first in Group D.

  With a last-16 tie against one of the best third-place teams still to come, Sabitzer is confident in Austria's togetherness.

  "I got the ball deep, I looked up to see if someone was free in the middle, but I got the impression that [the Netherlands] had more men there. In the past, the left foot has often helped me, so I thought that was the moment I could give it a try," Sabitzer told reporters.

  "As soon as the ball left my foot, I knew it could be good.

  "We are all footballers who want to win games, and that is our objective in every game. And if you have moments where things are a bit more difficult, and it goes back and forth, then the question is how does the team react to that.

  "You can be proud of the unity we have, the mentality we have on the pitch ... we used our strengths, the goal was very nicely worked. So many Austrians who watch us in the stadium trust us, and we want to give them something back."

• Chile 0-1 Argentina: Super sub Martinez sends Albiceleste to Copa America quarter-finals

  Lautaro Martinez struck a late winner as Argentina beat Chile 1-0 to secure their place in the Copa America knockout stages with a game to spare.

  The reigning champions looked like they would have to settle for a point on a frustrating night at the MetLife Stadium, having failed to turn their superiority into the game's opening goal.

  But substitute Martinez, who also netted from the bench in his nation's opener against Canada, finally broke Chile's resolve when he lashed home two minutes from time.

  It moved Lionel Scaloni's side onto six points at the Group A summit, three points ahead of Canada, who beat Peru 1-0 earlier in the day. A draw against Peru in their final game will now be enough to secure top spot.

  Argentina dominated the first half with 13 unanswered shots, yet just three of those were on target. One of them saw Julian Alvarez fire straight at Claudio Bravo from close range in the 22nd minute.

  Lionel Messi also went close to scoring in the 36th minute. La Albiceleste's skipper let fly with a fizzing 25-yard attempt that clipped the outside of Bravo's left post, while Erick Pulgar almost turned Nahuel Molina's cross beyond the Chile goalkeeper two minutes later.

  La Roja had Bravo to thank for keeping Argentina at bay, as the reigning champions continued to carry the greater attacking threat after the break.

  The veteran stopper beat away Molina's fierce strike within five minutes of the restart, and just after the hour mark, he produced a superb reflex save to tip Nicolas Gonzalez's drive onto the crossbar.

  With the breakthrough still eluding the world champions, Scaloni bolstered his attack by introducing Angel Di Maria and Martinez for the final 17 minutes.

  Chile had increased their own attacking threat by registering their first attempts on goal in the contest, with Rodrigo Echeverria calling Emiliano Martinez into action on both occasions.

  Yet, there was to be a late twist in Argentina's favour when an 88th-minute corner broke kindly for Martinez, who reacted quickest to fire into the roof of the net and send La Albiceleste through to the quarter-finals.

  Persistence pays dividends for Argentina

  The history books would have suggested Argentina should have fancied their chances against Chile.

  This is epitomised by the fact they are now unbeaten after 90 minutes in the last 13 meetings, winning eight of those, but that does not tell the full story.

  Seven of those eight victories have only been by a single-goal margin and, of course, they lost on penalties in the Copa America final showdowns of 2015 and 2016.

  Though they dominated most of this contest and registered 22 shots to their opponents' three, just the one goal was enough once more, with both of Martinez's strikes from the bench in this competition coming in the 88th minute.

  Argentina progress to the Copa America knockout stages for a 14th consecutive time, excluding when they withdrew from the 2001 tournament.

  Toothless Roja see resistance broken

  Chile looked set to frustrate Argentina once again at the Copa America and hold out for a second successive clean sheet.

  Their defensive resolve - along with an inspired performance by Bravo between the sticks - looked like it would remain firm and keep the reigning champions at bay, until Martinez's late intervention.

  What will be more concerning for La Roja is the fact they have now gone four successive Copa America matches without scoring, while having to wait until the 72nd minute for their first attempt on goal.

  That is something they need to address quickly ahead of their crucial final Group A clash with Canada, in which a victory could still see them snatch second place and a quarter-final spot.