Alphonso Davies revelled in Canada's first ever Copa America victory, insisting he and his team-mates will savour their narrow 1-0 win over 10-man Peru.

Jonathan David scored the only goal in Kansas as Jesse Marsch's side boosted their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages from Group A.

The Lille striker struck 16 minutes from time to move the Canucks up to second place behind reigning champions Argentina, who beat them 2-0 in their opener, with 26 of his 27 international goals coming in competitive matches.

It gave Canada only their third victory over a South American opponent, and first since a 2-0 win over Colombia in the 2000 Gold Cup final.

They also kept their first clean sheet against a team from the CONMEBOL region since holding Brazil to a goalless draw in the 2001 Confederations Cup.

"We're going to enjoy the moment, but know the work isn't done," skipper Davies told Canadian broadcaster TSN.

Stephen Eustaquio added: "We were too naive in the first half, but played more direct in the second half."

Canada's first Copa America victory came in their second match, with Panama the only CONCACAF nation to achieve their maiden win in their opening match in the competition - doing so eight years ago.

Marsch's side face Chile in their final group encounter on Saturday, when a draw may be enough to take them through to the quarter-finals.

"We have everything to fight for in the last game," David told TSN.

Lionel Messi continues to amaze Canada head coach Jesse Marsch after inspiring Argentina to victory in the opening game of the Copa America.

World champions Argentina triumphed 2-0 over Canada in Atlanta, making an impressive start to their title defence in the tournament.

Messi had a hand in both goals as Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez struck in the second half on Thursday.

The Martinez goal saw Messi rack up his 17th Copa America assist. Since 2011, he has registered over three times as many goals created as any other player in the competition, with Angel Di Maria and Alexis Sanchez ranking second on five each.

Messi turns 37 on Monday, and has a stunning 20-year professional career under his belt, but that does not mean he does not continue to stun and surprise his opponents, including Marsch.

Marsch felt his team did what they could to remain compact, but Messi, who created a game-leading five chances, proved the difference on his record-breaking 35th Copa appearance.

The Canada boss explained the task of having to face Messi was amazing and awful in equal measure, with the forward having a massive impact even though the coach felt his gameplan to try and limit the Argentina star had been implemented reasonably well.

"Yeah, with Messi we talked a lot about our compactness and then identifying the spaces that he likes to show up in," Marsch said after the game.

"We talked about not diving in because it's hard to win tackles from him.

"What happens is if you eliminate yourself or if you start diving in for tackles, he's really good slipping and moving and getting back again and making little final plays.

"This is what I say about Messi: I have coached against him several times and I feel like we have had a good match plan and we have executed a lot of good things.

"But he is so good, he is that good that he still makes plays. The two balls he makes on the two goals I think are world class. 

"Amazing, it's awful. It's amazing."

Inter Miami star Messi had a game-leading six shots, getting three of them on target, and also led the match for touches in the opponent's box (nine) in an all-action display.

Despite the challenge of facing Messi, Canada captain Alphonso Davies felt his side should have done more to follow up on a battling first-half performance that meant the game goalless at half-time.

"We have to change our attitude towards the game," Davies said to TSN.

"The first half we played well, but in the second half we let every long ball bounce. 

"It was a disappointing result, we need to look at everything we did wrong in the game and fix it as soon as possible."

Argentina return to action against Chile on Tuesday, which is also when Canada will hope to pick up their first points of the campaign against Peru.

Argentina picked up where they left off in the Copa America, with the holders kick-starting their title defence with a strong 2-0 victory over Canada.

The world champions are expected to progress with ease from Group A, and they made an ideal start in Atlanta on Thursday.

Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez got the goals, but it was of course Lionel Messi who was the main focus.

Messi became the record appearance maker in the 108-year history of the Copa America, overtaking Chile great Sergio Livingstone by featuring in his 35th match at the tournament.

The 36-year-old's superb tournament record stands at 22 wins, 10 draws and three losses. And he has one Copa title – a total he hopes will increase with another trophy on July 14.

And while he could not get on the scoresheet, Messi, despite playing on a choppy pitch that has drawn the ire of Argentina, was as influential as ever for La Albiceleste.

He will probably lament some unusually profligate finishing - at least by his high standards - as the reason why he didn't mark his record-setting appearance with a 14th Copa America goal (he is, as it stands, four off the all-time leading goalscorers in the competition, Norberto Mendez and Zizinho).

Messi had a game-leading six shots, getting three of them on target, with those attempts accumulating an expected goals (xG) value of 0.79 - a total bettered by only his team-mate Martinez (0.8).

The Inter Miami star led the match for touches in the opponent's box (nine), and big chances (two) in an all-action display.

Canada's goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who like Messi plays in MLS, was also on form, making six saves.

But what Messi lacked in his finishing, he made up for in creativity.

His total of five chances created led the match, and was at least two clear of any other player on the pitch. He was nine ahead of next-best Rodrigo de Paul for passes in the final third, with 27, and attempted six dribbles, albeit only completing one of them.

It was Messi's pass that released Alexis Mac Allister, who was then wiped out by Crepeau only for Alvarez to tuck home Argentina's 49th-minute opener.

And it was Messi who put through substitute Martinez to round off the victory late on.

That was Messi's 17th assist at the Copa America, with his first assist in the competition coming in 2011.

Since then, he has registered over three times as many assists as any other player in the competition, with Angel Di Maria and Alexis Sanchez ranking second on five each.

It also saw Messi reach 50 direct goal involvements in official competitions for club and country on U.S. soil (30 goals + 20 assists).

His figure of seven line-breaking passes, meanwhile, was more than double that of any other player in Thursday's match.

Argentina can reasonably reflect that they should have scored more, an ominous sign for their upcoming opponents. They had nine big scoring chances (according to Opta's definition) against Canada, the most for La Albiceleste in a single game since 2013, and accumulated 2.98 xG. 

Messi was at the heart of it all, but it was not a case of him having to do it all on his own.

De Paul was impressive in midfield, while in Alvarez and Martinez, Messi has an excellent supporting cast for this year's competition.

At 24 years and 142 days, Alvarez is the youngest player to score in both the World Cup and the Copa America since Jose Maria Gimenez did so for Uruguay in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Martinez, meanwhile, has scored in four of the last five matches he has played in the Copa America, striking in this match against Canada to follow up goals against Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia in 2021. The only exception in that run was the final in 2021 against Brazil.

The Inter striker might have to settle for a back-up role at this tournament, but it's now three goals in his last two matches for his country, and he could be a contender for the Golden Boot.

Argentina should be confident of a deep run. They should really go all the way.

They are the best team in the world, after all, and Lionel Scaloni has, by some distance, the best squad in the competition at his disposal, what with Brazil missing stalwarts Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison, as well as their talisman Neymar, even if Vinicius Junior is an excellent alternative.

That being said, this is the first time under their coach that Argentina have won their opening match of a major tournament, having slipped to a 2-0 defeat to Colombia in the 2019 Copa America, drawing 1-1 with Chile in the same competition two years later, and then losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup.

This time, they have got off on the right foot. Upcoming matches against Chile and Peru should not prove tough hurdles to navigate, especially not with Messi already clicking through the gears.

Lionel Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez criticised the state of the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Argentina's 2-0 Copa America win over Canada.

Goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez got the job done for the reigning continental and world champions in Atlanta on Thursday, in the tournament's opener.

However, the state of the playing surface was a big issue, with the turf notably chopping up.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is used for both NFL games - it is the home of the Atlanta Falcons - and MLS, with Atlanta United playing their home matches there, but Scaloni was deeply unhappy with the preparation of the pitch, with an artificial surface having been replaced by grass on the eve of the Copa America.

"The start looked like the match with Saudi Arabia [at the 2022 World Cup], with the difference that we played on a more decent pitch that time," Scaloni told reporters.

"With all due respect, thank goodness we won. Otherwise, it would have been a cheap excuse.

"We have known for seven months that we are going to play here and they changed the turf two days ago.

"It is not good for the show. It is not an excuse, the stadium is beautiful and with synthetic turf it must be spectacular, but with today's turf it is not suitable for this kind of players."

Scaloni's sentiment was echoed by goalkeeper Martinez, who told TyC Sports: "Coming here against a strong Canada, with good forwards and on a field that is a disaster made it a little difficult for us.

"We have to improve in that aspect. Otherwise, the Copa America will always be at a lower level than the European Championship."

Argentina captain and talisman Lionel Messi became the record appearance maker in Copa America history, overtaking Sergio Livingstone by playing in his 35th game at the tournament.

While he could not mark the milestone appearance with a goal, Messi did tee up Martinez's effort late on, with that assist his 17th in the Copa America.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game. We knew that Canada was going to be a hard team to go against," Messi told FOX.

"They were physical, very physical. In the first half, there was little space. It was intense, physically intense and strong and then in the second half we were able to progress and get better."

Copa America holders Argentina made a winning start at the 2024 tournament as Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scored in a 2-0 win over Canada.

The 2022 World Cup winners did not have things all their own way against Jesse Marsch's competition debutants, who missed a couple of glaring chances through Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.

But on the day he became the Copa's outright leading appearance-maker, Lionel Messi was the catalyst for both goals, splitting the Canada defence in the build-up to Alvarez's opener then assisting Martinez's late clincher.

The Inter Miami star missed two great chances to get on the scoresheet himself, but it was of no consequence as Lionel Scaloni's men started with three points.

They take on Chile, who beat them in the 2015 and 2016 finals, in their second match on Tuesday, while Canada will look to bounce back versus Peru.

Canada refused to sit in and their approach left them open at the back early on. Leandro Paredes curled a 25-yard effort narrowly over the top, then Alvarez saw his shot smothered by Maxime Crepeau after a lightning break took him clean through on goal.

Despite Argentina dominating possession, Canada should have gone ahead on the stroke of half-time, Emiliano Martinez making a reflex save to deny Stephen Eustaquio before Davies miscued on the follow-up. 

They were made to regret that miss four minutes into the second half. Messi's pinpoint throughball found Alexis Mac Allister, and though the midfielder was wiped out by Crepeau, Alvarez was on hand to convert into an empty net.

Messi should have made it 2-0 after 65 minutes, but he saw an angled drive parried by Crepeau before Derek Cornelius made a fine block to deny him on the rebound. 

Canada continued to offer a threat at the other end, though, with David heading over after being found totally unmarked by Jacob Shaffelburg's cross.

Messi missed another chance when his dinked attempt rolled agonisingly wide, but he did manage an assist as Argentina made the result safe two minutes from time.

His delicate pass sent Martinez clear, and the substitute slotted a composed finish between the legs of Crepeau.

Assist for Messi on landmark appearance

Messi made a piece of Copa America history on Thursday, his 35th appearance in CONMEBOL's flagship tournament pulling him clear of Chile great Sergio Livingstone for the most games played at the competition outright.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner failed to mark the occasion with a goal, misfiring from a game-high six shots worth 0.69 expected goals (xG).

However, he did cap his outing with an assist for Martinez's late second, taking him to 30 goal involvements at the tournament overall (13 goals, 17 assists).

Messi still has plenty of gears to go through, and that should strike fear into Argentina's upcoming opponents. 

Encouragement for Canada, but no points

Canada became the 20th different nation to participate in the Copa America, and the eighth different CONCACAF team after Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and the United States.

As was the case at the 2022 World Cup, they played some high-octane football but were not rewarded with a positive result.

At half-time, Marsch's team had matched Argentina's tally of seven shots, the most any team have attempted in a first half against the Albiceleste since Uruguay managed eight in November 2021. Their 0.73 xG, meanwhile, topped the world champions' 0.56 at that stage. 

Alvarez's opener came as a dagger blow and they were unable to sustain their high-intensity approach for the full 90 minutes, but there were positives to take.

Ahead of Thursday's opener, the Opta supercomputer gave Canada just a 27 per cent chance of escaping Group A. While the result will have done nothing to boost those hopes, their display should offer encouragement ahead of meetings with Peru and Chile.

Lionel Scaloni says Argentina are not resting on their laurels as they prepare for a tough Copa America title defence.

The Albiceleste won the 2021 edition of the tournament, beating Brazil 1-0 in the final, before lifting the World Cup in Qatar a year later.

Argentina are among the favourites to lift the trophy again, for what would be a record 16th time, edging past Uruguay, who also have 15.

However, Scaloni believes they need to put their recent successes behind them ahead of their opening game against Canada on Thursday.

"We are talking about things that have already passed. [Winning the World Cup and the Copa America] was very nice, but it's over," he said in his press conference.

"Football matches are all different, there are no easier games than others. A lot of things can happen. The difficulty of France, Brazil or Canada can be the same.

"It will be a difficult Copa America as always; we are prepared for what is to come. We are doing well, with clear ideas and knowing the difficulty of this tournament.

"Beyond the titles, we have enjoyed a lot. It's a pleasure to watch how [the players] give their all. That leads to being able to achieve things. We have shown that even if we didn't win like in 2019, we were able to continue and show you can do things."

Lionel Messi, who is set to break the all-time appearance record in the competition when he features for Argentina, is potentially playing in his final major tournament for the national side, while Angel Di Maria announced he will be retiring at its conclusion.

Instead of looking to a future without the two star players in his squad, Scaloni urged fans to enjoy getting to see them play together while they still can.

"It is a pleasure to see them train and play, how they give themselves. I am not worried about the future of Messi and Di Maria.

"It doesn't make much sense to think about when they're gone. Let's enjoy them now. We'll see what happens later. Messi is fine, he's happy. I have renewed ideas and strength. It's a nice challenge to defend the title."

Argentina will also face Chile and Peru in Group A.

Argentina are preparing to defend their Copa America title, but Lionel Messi is staying realistic ahead of their opening match against Canada on Thursday.

The Albiceleste beat Brazil 1-0 in the final in 2021 to win the title for the first time since 1993 before going on to lift the World Cup just over a year later.

Since their victory over France in December 2022, Argentina have remained in strong form, losing just one of their 14 matches in all competitions and winning the other 13.

Messi, who will become the Copa America's all-time record appearance-maker when he next features in the tournament, says he expects to face a tough challenge to retain the trophy.

"Argentina are always favourites," Messi said. "I think it is going to be a very eventful tournament because national teams are becoming better and better.

"Today we are the best because we won the World Cup, but the Copa America is going to be difficult.

"It will be even, and our team is aware that we are going to have to continue doing the same and more to win again.

"We are going to try to win the Copa America again but let's remember that not everything is about winning."

Meanwhile, Canada are making their first appearance at the Copa America after qualifying through the playoffs with a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.

They failed to get out of the group stage on their return to the world stage in Qatar two years ago, but now under new coach Jesse Marsch they are looking to make an impression before co-hosting the World Cup in 2026.

Canada had an encouraging 0-0 draw against France in their last warm-up match and will hope a squad containing Alphonso Davies, Stephen Eustaquio and Jonathan David can be competitive in a Group A that also contains Chile and Peru.

Tests do not come much tougher than the reigning champions, but Marsch is confident they have a plan to deal with the danger Argentina, and Messi, pose.

"We're excited for this tournament, we know it's a big challenge," said Marsch. "It won't be a shock to us when we encounter the quality and the level of play with Argentina.

"We'll be preparing heavily for everything that Argentina will do and prepare for what they present. Certainly, Messi is still a massive part of their team and who they are."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Argentina – Lionel Messi

Who else?

His next appearance in the Copa America will be his 35th, overtaking Chile great Sergio Livingstone, and he has scored 13 goals for Argentina in the competition along the way.

He has also provided nine Copa assists and has had more shots than any other player at the tournament since the start of the 2011 edition (102).

Canada – Cyle Larin

Larin is Canada's all-time top scorer, netting 29 times for his country in 68 appearances including a key strike in the win over Trinidad and Tobago.

Despite struggling for goals in LaLiga with Real Mallorca in 2023-24, netting just seven times in all competitions, Larin will be looking to further improve his international record at the tournament, with Lille's David (26) fast closing in on his tally.

MATCH PREDICTION: ARGENTINA WIN

Unsurprisingly, Argentina are the overwhelming favourites to start their title defence with a win and they go in with a 74.3% chance of finishing the game with three points.

Canada, meanwhile, are given just an 11% chance of claiming an upset in their Copa America debut, with the draw slightly more likely at 14.7%.

The Albiceleste have only lost once since the start of 2023, and in that run of 14 matches, they have conceded just four goals and impressively kept 11 clean sheets.

Canada failed to score in either of their warm-up friendlies against the Netherlands (4-0) and France (0-0) in the build-up to the tournament, last hitting the back of the net in March.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Argentina – 74.3%

Draw – 14.7%

Canada – 11%

India missed the chance to make it four wins from as many T20 World Cup games after their final group clash with Canada was abandoned due to rain in Florida.

Rohit Sharma's side had already secured progression from Group A to the Super 8s, while co-hosts Canada could not escape the pool after two losses and a sole victory.

The match on Saturday was called off without a ball being bowled due to the persistent downpour at Lauderhill.

India, Australia, and Afghanistan have all qualified to feature in Group 1 of the Super 8s, which starts on Wednesday.

The United States have qualified for the Super 8s after their T20 World Cup match with Ireland in Florida was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Only an Ireland victory over tournament co-hosts USA could have prevented the Americans' progress to the next round, but no play was possible on Friday amid a flash-flood emergency in the region.

There were multiple pitch inspections, but the umpires ultimately concluded no play was possible due to the wet outfield.

USA secured a win over Canada in the opening match of the tournament before pulling off an almighty upset to beat Pakistan, who are now eliminated because of the washout, as are Canada.

The outcome also means Ireland are out, although their hopes had already looked slim after losses to India and Canada.

India are expected to finish top of Group A, having beaten USA in their last match to secure a third successive victory. 

Rohit Sharma's side will do battle with Australia, Afghanistan and a team from Group D – most likely to be Bangladesh – in the next round, though they still have one more pool match to play against Canada on Saturday.

USA are poised to enter Group 2 of the Super 8s along with fellow hosts West Indies and South Africa. The final spot in that section will be filled by either England or Scotland, depending on who progresses from Group B.

As a result of reaching the Super 8s in this competition, Monank Patel's USA team are also now guaranteed qualification to the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.

Babar Azam lauded a much-needed T20 World Cup victory for Pakistan against Canada on Tuesday, though still regretted his side not wrapping up the win sooner.

Pakistan made light work of their 107-run target in New York, easing to their first win at this year's competition with 15 balls to spare and still boasting seven wickets in hand.

Mohammad Rizwan made a run-a-ball 53 in the chase, while captain Babar added 33 in what proved to be a routine victory.

Yet having already suffered a shock opening defeat to the United States and a low-scoring loss to rivals India, Babar was frustrated Pakistan could not finish the task sooner against Canada.

"Good for us, we need this win," Babar said during his post-match interview. "We started well with the bowling, in the first six overs we knew we had to be up to the mark.

"[Net run-rate] was in our mind, to win before 14 overs but the pitch made it difficult."

Mohammad Amir managed an economical 2-13 from his four-over spell as Canada's batters failed to get going against Pakistan.

The Pakistan bowler was named Player of the Match for his efforts, referencing a need for adaptability in the USA and West Indies.

"As a bowler you have to adopt the conditions, what the conditions are demanding," Amir said. "My role is very clear, what I'm going to do with the new ball and at the death.

"That's why I'm getting that success. That was a very important win. One more, who knows..."

Canada captain Saad Bin Zafar, meanwhile, was left frustrated.

"Definitely, it was a bit disappointing," he said. "We wanted to play a positive brand of cricket and I think the wicket was not very helpful.

"It was difficult to bat early on; not a good toss to lose. We were about 25 to 30 runs short."

Pakistan boosted their slim hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup Super 8s with a seven-wicket victory over Canada.

Muhammad Rizwan made an unbeaten half-century to give the Green Shirts a much-needed win in New York, having started their campaign with back-to-back defeats against the United States and India.

Aaron Johnson top-scored for Canada with an impressive 52 off 44 balls - including four sixes - as the Maple Leafers finished at 106-7.

Rizwan and Babar Azam led Pakistan's charge with a stand of 63.

Azam fell on 33 as he was caught off Dilon Heyliger, but Rizwan kept things ticking over before Usman Khan wrapped up the victory with 15 balls to spare.

Data Debrief: Ton up for Rauf

Pakistan are still in the hunt for a Super 8s spot, though they must comfortably beat Ireland in the final Group A game and hope for favourable results from elsewhere to secure a top-two finish.

On a brighter note, Haris Rauf's figure of 2-26 saw him notch up his 100th wicket in T20Is, becoming only the second player from his nation to hit triple figures after Shadab Khan.

France failed to round off their Euro 2024 preparations with a victory as they were held to a goalless draw by Jesse Marsch's impressive Canada side in Bordeaux.

With captain Kylian Mbappe starting on the bench after picking up a knock against Luxembourg on Wednesday, Didier Deschamps' team were unable to find a way through and were arguably fortunate to avoid an upset.

Antoine Griezmann saw a low drive tipped wide by Maxime Crepeau in the first half, but Canada went closer shortly after the restart as Liam Millar curled a shot against Mike Maignan's crossbar.

Olivier Giroud – playing his final home international before he calls time on his France career after the Euros – miscued on the volley before substitute Randal Kolo Muani somehow headed wide when totally unmarked late on.

Having entered the fray as a 74th-minute substitute, Mbappe tried to provide some inspiration with a mazy run in stoppage time, but his powerful drive was pushed away by Crepeau as Canada stepped up their Copa America preparations with a creditable result.

Data Debrief: No way through for Les Bleus

France will not be panicking just yet, with Mbappe's absence from their starting lineup an obvious factor as they struggled to break Canada down, but they will certainly need more in the final third when they face Austria in eight days' time.

They actually managed fewer final-third entries (40 to 50) than Canada, only hitting the target with four of their 13 attempts.

Ousmane Dembele attempted to provide some much-needed drive, attempting more dribbles in the first half alone (11, finished with 13) than in any other game for France. However, end product was lacking for both the winger and his team-mates. 

Canada earned their first-ever T20 World Cup win with a shock 12-run victory over Ireland on Friday.

It was not the best start for Canada in the power play, but they soon found their rhythm when Barbados-born Nicholas Kirton and Shreyas Movva came into the fold, scoring 49 and 37 respectively, before Barry McCarthy got them both out in his 2-24.

They fizzled out shortly after, finishing with 137-7, though it soon became clear an upset was on the cards as Ireland stumbled to 59-6 in the 13th over, thanks to Canada's impressive bowling.

A strong display from George Dockrell (30 not out) and Mark Adair (34), paired with fielding mistakes, set up a nervy finish. However, Adair was then taken by Jeremy Gordon (2-16) in the final over to ensure Ireland would finish short of their target with 125-7.

Ireland stay bottom of Group A with no points, while Canada are right in the mix, level on two with Pakistan. 

Meanwhile, Scotland continued their strong start to the World Cup with their first win of the tournament, a five-wicket victory over Namibia on Thursday to move them top of Group B.

Data Debrief: History made for Canada

Before this game, Canada had lost each of their last five men's T20Is; they had lost only four of their 23 games prior to this run in the format (W18 T1). However, that run has now ended in perfect fashion.

For just the second time, Ireland have lost their opening two games in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup; only in 2016 did they do the same in a single edition of the tournament.

Jesse Marsch's first game in charge of Canada ended in disappointment as the clinical Netherlands scored four second-half goals to win 4-0 on Thursday.

Both sides had good chances in a fairly even first half - Georginio Wijnaldum saw an effort cleared off the line, while Cyle Larin squandered a brilliant chance, sending it wide.

The Netherlands came out of the blocks quickly in the second half though, with Memphis Depay poking in five minutes after the restart before Jeremie Frimpong doubled their lead with a lovely curling effort.

Wout Weghorst made an instant impact off the bench as he latched onto Dayne St. Clair's spill, and fellow substitute Virgil van Dijk headed in late on to ensure an emphatic victory for the hosts.

The Netherlands' final friendly before Euro 2024 is against Iceland on Monday, while Canada travel to France for another warm-up before the start of the Copa America. 

Data Debrief: Netherlands too strong in Rotterdam

Just five players have reached 25 goal involvements under a single manager for the Netherlands since 1978, with Depay's goal today moving him to 25 under Ronald Koeman.

In the first half, Oranje managed an xG of just 0.83 from their nine shots but improved on that after the break. Canada had no answers as the Netherlands hit four, creating an xG of 2.08 from their 11 efforts, eight of which were on target.

Aaron Jones etched his name into T20 World Cup folklore with a match-winning blitz on Sunday, but hopes his impact leaves a legacy off the field for United States cricket.

Jones crashed 94 off just 40 balls, combining in a 131-run third-wicket partnership with Andries Gous, as the USA started their World Cup campaign with a seven-wicket win over Canada.

The Dallas crowd were treated to a spectacle as the domination by Jones and Gous came at 14.29 runs per over, the highest run-rate of any century partnership in the tournament's history.

With hosts USA making their first-ever appearance at this global competition, Jones wants his scintillating performance to inspire the next generation of his country's cricketers.

He said after his heroics: "I wanted especially [to win] because America is not really a 'cricketing country', I wanted to win for our fans…and really show the world that the USA has great cricketers here."

As for his own performance, Jones crashed 10 sixes in a dominant chase as the USA cruised to a 195 target with some 14 balls to spare.

Only Chris Gayle, with 11 against England in 2016 at Wankhede, has ever cleared the ropes more times in a single World Cup innings.

"Sometimes when you play an innings like this, you go home, you sleep, and then you wake up and go 'woah, I don't even know how I batted like that'," Jones added.

"It's happened to me two or three times in the past and I think tomorrow is going to be like that as well."

Teetering on the brink at 42-2 in the second innings, Jones and Gous – the latter bludgeoning 65 off 46 balls – stepped up to power the USA to an unlikely victory.

"To be honest with you, from a young age, I've always been put in positions where I needed to be the man," he continued.

"To save the team and to help the team win. I think it brings out the best in me."

The USA face a tougher test when they meet Pakistan on Thursday, aiming to make it two wins from as many games in the limited-overs tournament.