Liam Millar of Canada celebrates the team's progression to the quarter finals after the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Group A match between Canada and Chile at Exploria Stadium on June 29, in Orlando, Fla.When it was announced a year and a half ago that North American teams would participate in the Copa America for the first time, the reason provided was to “ensure football in both regions continues to thrive.”Nobody needed to say the real reason – the imminent arrival of Lionel Messi.
South America would beat the hell out of opponents; North America would say, ‘Thank you, señor, may I have another?’ Now, for the first time really, America & Friends would find out what full-contact football feels like when you’re playing for real.For a few minutes against Argentina in the opener, Canada looked like it might fluke its way into a famous win. That had its moments, until it didn’t.
The U.S. expected to look good, if not exactly perform well. Same story. As of this writing, it was a defeat to Uruguay – the most explosive team in the tournament so far – away from elimination. The reason this country bombed out so badly at Qatar 2022 wasn’t the results. It lost all three games, but it lost them to two eventual semi-finalists plus the then-No. 2-ranked team in the world .