Lionel Messi has big night as Argentina begins Copa America defense in style

ATLANTA — Lionel Messi’s through ball led to Julián Álvarez’s goal in the 49th minute, then he assisted on Lautaro Martínez’s goal in the 88th as Argentina began the defense of its Copa America title with a 2-0 victory over Canada on Thursday night.

Argentina is seeking its third straight major title after winning the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done this,” Messi said through a translator, “but we had patience to retain possession of the ball and it was hard to find the good open spaces.”

With South America’s championship moved to the United States for the second time, Messi set a Copa America record with his 35th match, one more than Chile’s Sergio Livingstone from 1941-53. Messi extended his own record with his 18th assist.

Messi, who turns 37 on Monday, created the first goal when following a throw-in, he headed a pass through the defense for Alexis MacAllister.