Canada defends Concacaf and qualifies for the Copa America semis [Video]

Canada beat Venezuela 4-3 on penalties (they tied 1-1 after 90 minutes) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and earned a ticket to the Copa América semifinals.

In this instance, they will face the Argentine team, which beat Ecuador in the penalty shoot-out. In what will be a rematch of what happened in the group stage, since the Albiceleste had defeated them in the opening match of Group A.

La Vinotinto had a risky approach at the start because they went out to pressure their rival and try to force errors on the defensive level, but they were left unprotected in the last line and the Concacaf team exploited the advantages perfectly.

First, defender Jon Aramburu made two heroic saves to keep the score at 0 in the 11th minute. Seconds later, Canada accelerated and the third time was the charm with a shot by Jacob Shaffelburg to make it 1-0 in Texas.

The response from Fernando Batista’s team came immediately through Salomón Rondón, who rose unmarked in the area to score a header that went just inches wide of the right post. Later, Yangel Herrera appeared with a header that was deflected by an opponent and headed to the corner.

After the break, Canada seemed to have learned absolutely nothing as it continued to squander progress with Larin and Laryea. These were unforgivable errors against an opponent that took the match seriously and equalised with a goal from Salomón Rondón from the middle of the field.

The 34-year-old forward made a long clearance, shook off an opponent and took advantage of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau’s advance to finish with a chip shot in the 63rd minute, sending South American fans in the United States into raptures.

From this point on, the Canadians showed a very different face, reflecting the difference in hierarchy on the pitch. At that moment, Romo appeared to deflect Liam Millar’s attempt (66′). There was also inefficiency because two attacks by Tani Oluwaseyi went over the crossbar. There was no definition in the 90 minutes and everything went to penalties.

The first five-shot shootout ended with both teams tied at 3-3 after misses by Yangel Herrera and Jefferson Savarino in Venezuela, and Millar and Eustáquio in Canada. As soon as the individual series started, Wilker Ángel over-anticipated a shot that Maxime Crépeau blocked. Ismaël Koné sealed the winning team’s qualification for the semi-finals.

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