Ismael Kone despatched Canada to their first Copa America semi-final as they overcame Venezuela 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 attract Texas.
Jacob Shaffelburg opened the scoring for Canada, just for Salomon Rondon to internet a shocking long-range equaliser to take the quarter-final the gap.
With 32 photographs shared between the 2 sides, penalties would determine who would face Argentina on the MetLife Stadium subsequent week.
The decisive miss got here from Wilker Angel, with Kone’s stuttering run up permitting him to coolly slot the ball past Rafael Romo to see Canada develop into the fourth CONCACAF staff to achieve the semi-finals of the competitors.
Regardless of the nerves of enjoying of their first-ever knockout fixture on the Copa America, it was Canada who would strike the early blow within the contest.
Having seen appeals for a penalty waved away moments earlier, Shaffelburg dusted himself right down to open the scoring, squeezing dwelling Jonathan David’s cross on the close to submit within the thirteenth minute.
Jesse Marsch’s facet had alternatives to double their benefit, as Shaffelburg noticed his effort saved whereas David fluffed his strains with solely Romo to beat as a pulsating first half got here to an in depth.
Canada’s dominance continued after the break however Cyle Larin was unable to hit the goal, and their wastefulness in entrance of objective was punished spectacularly.
An extended ball up entrance noticed Rondon win a tussle with Moise Bombito, taking purpose from simply contained in the Canada half to lob Maxime Crepeau for a objective of the event contender.
David continued to threaten for Canada, chipping the ball in behind for Tani Oluwaseyi who may solely discover the roof of the web within the closing likelihood of regular time.
Either side would miss two spot-kicks because the encounter reached sudden demise, however Angel noticed his effort saved by Crepeau, handing the accountability over to Kone, who clinched a landmark victory for Marsch’s facet.
A SEMI-FINAL BERTH IN OUR FIRST EVER COPA AMÉRICA!!!! WE JUST DID THAT! //#CANMNT #NoFearAllFight pic.twitter.com/dz4wPFnkW7
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) July 6, 2024
Venezuela’s younger weapons will be pleased with their efforts
Fernando Batista can rely his staff unfortunate following their gut-wrenching exit from the event, however his younger squad can take satisfaction of their performances on the event.
Venezuela battled an onslaught of Canada strain, however fought again with their very own attacking abilities, with Rondon’s strike their fourth consecutive objective on the Copa America, their longest run of video games with a objective within the competitors since a run of 5 video games in June 2015.
Nevertheless, hopes of reaching a primary Copa America semi-final since 2011 have been dashed.
However, Venezuela can go away the event with their heads held excessive, having equalled their highest objective tally (seven) in a single version of the competitors.
Canada by, however should enhance in entrance of objective
Marsch stated he wished to construct one thing particular with Canada, and his facet’s run within the Copa America has proven they’ve the flexibility to take action forward of the 2026 World Cup.
Canada began brightly by Shaffelburg’s early strike, with all three of his worldwide strikes coming in knockout matches. Nevertheless, it ought to have been extra.
From their 16 photographs on objective, solely seven have been on track, with 12 of their efforts coming contained in the field. Marsch’s facet underperformed their anticipated targets (xG) by 0.84, and had 4 complete large probabilities in comparison with Venezuela’s 0.
Regardless of these underlying statistics, Canada can be hopeful of holding their fairytale run within the competitors alive in opposition to Argentina, who they misplaced to within the group stage of the competitors.