Argentina just played Canada in the opening match of the 2024 Copa America at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia…let that sink in for a moment. The vibes were wild, and though the scoring was relatively low, the crowd brought a true South American atmosphere to the Deep South. About 71,500 turned the stands the blue and white of La Albiceleste as Messi and co pulled a 2-0 win over Jesse Marsch’s Canadians. Here are your final whistle thoughts live from the Benz!
Canada fought but Argentina is just too good
This wasn’t a blow out by any means, and Marsch’s squad should keep their head up. I still have them getting out of their group regardless of the result, but they gave Argentina a fight for about 80 minutes. They never once looked “in control,” but they played the style of game needed to combat Argentina’s skill. They were inches away from taking the lead early on, and could’ve tied it when Argentina went up 1-0.
A tad more precision would’ve served them well, but give credit to Dibu for some spectacular saves when it mattered most. They tried to hit on the counter multiple times and almost got away with some sneaky goals, but it simply wasn’t meant to be Canada’s night.
Lionel Messi
Look. Messi had a game, and even when he’s not on one, he’s still incredibly dangerous. His assist for Lautaro Martinez’s goal was perfect, and his vision on so many passes throughout the night were what you expect of the GOAT.
That being said, it’s WILD that he missed those two solid chances he typically buries. As an Argentina fan, the teasing nature of seeing him go 1v1 against Crepeau and not hit the back of the net is almost unbearable. Regardless, he orchestrated everything beautifully and played some phenomenal soccer, and the crowd went absolute bonkers every time he touched the ball.
Argentina is the team to beat
Argentina isn’t invincible; they tend to have some very shaky moments defensively. Dibu is a huge part of why Argentina can play the way they do. They’re patient, but they can flip the switch to drive forward aggressively in a heartbeat. Teams can hurt them on the counter, but having a goalkeeper back there who just makes wild saves on a daily basis is truly a blessing. Couple that with some of the best midfielders and attackers in the world and it’s no wonder Argentina continues to be the favorite in everything coming out of the World Cup in 2022.
La Albiceleste should have no problem running their group, but it’s going to take an absolute battle to drop them from the knockout rounds. It also helps that virtually anywhere they play in this tournament, they’re going to have the home field advantage…at least in spirit and numbers of fans.
Welcome to Atlanta
Atlanta gave a good account of itself tonight! Atlanta United’s home, which should never be taken for granted, was rocking. It was a thing of beauty. From the opening ceremonies to the overall atmosphere, Mercedes-Benz Stadium played a beautiful host to the first match of Copa America. The world now has a taste of what to expect not only when the USMNT plays Panama next week, but when the World Cup arrives in 2026. While most folks reading this will certainly be Atlanta United fans, it’s worth reminding everyone to never take what we have here for granted. I witnessed so many people today seeing this behemoth of a stadium for the first time, with absolute awe in their eyes. Relish it.
Let us know below what you thought of the match, and drop a comment if you were at the stadium!
Watching Messi and and them walk out onto the field made me tear up. Our home is host to THE Copa America. THE World Cup. THE GOAT!!! It is literally unbelievable. I wasn’t there, but I was proud to be an Atlanta United fan and be here through thick and thin. But this part of our history,*football* in America for that matter; is very special and will continue to be through 2026 and beyond!!!
Every time I see a picture of Messi standing next to a more normal-sized human being, I’m still kinda shocked even though I know he’s a very small person, in terms of physical stature.
If I read correctly, as a young kid, he had to get some kind of expensive growth hormone shots, which Barca offered to cover the cost so he moved to Spain. The beauty of soccer: you don’t have to be big physically to be great.
yeah…imagine how little he would be without that treatment!
my son was a very late bloomer physically (now he’s 6-1 185, without hormone treatments 😎). always the smallest kid on his team until about 15 yrs, and always playing up one year, if not two. baseball and soccer were his two sports … which are about the only two where size doesn’t really hold you back. if you can play, you can play.
For the curious, The Athletic has an article (sadly, the site is pay walled) with many complaints from Argentina players and their manager about the pitch last night. Interestingly there were none listed by Canada. Anyway, I know some stuff about the situation in MBS and many of you aren’t going to like it.
TLDR version – Going with artificial turf isn’t a decision that can cheaply be fixed after the fact, so it probably won’t ever change to grass.
When the stadium was being built, it was considered whether to use grass or artificial turf and they went with turf because experts said that it wasn’t possible to get enough sunlight with the roof open or artificial light from the stadium lights to make grass grow there. Giant US stadiums that have roofs and have real grass fields also have it designed so that the entire field sits outside in the sun on a movable platform when not in use. Such a platform was never built in MBS. I have no idea what it would cost to put one in now, assuming it’s even possible to do so in a stadium literally never designed to have this, but it can’t be cheap. I’m just gonna be blunt and say Uncle Arthur is NEVER going to pay for that. So if a month from now Uncle Arthur agrees to pay for it and it happens, you’re welcome for me making it happen by saying it would never happen. But at this time I really do think it’s never going to happen. Maybe something can be done to make the surface less like a trampoline, as Argentina put it.
Its not that complicated. The temporary field should have been put in more than 3 days ago.
Should have been more like 2-3 weeks ago. The Houston game should have been played on the temporary surface.
There should have been plenty of time before the Houston game.
As far as Arthur paying for a platform – he won’t have to. Part of the deal with the construction of the stadium was that in addition to the $200M guaranteed from the City from the hotel tax, they continue to, and will for the life of the stadium, put additional funds from that tax into a waterfall account to pay for ongoing maintenance and improvements to the stadium. Arthur would pay for a platform with that money, not his own.
Great deal for AB, and at least the local taxpayers mostly aren’t directly paying it.
I also heard that Argentina did not like the grass, saying it was very slippery and someone noted that a lot of players were slipping quite a bit, so there might be some merit to that.
Canada didn’t complain much, if at all, but then that’s what you’d expect from Canadians.
MB was built for football first. I don’t think AU was in the cards yet. The sight lines for soccer are not very good.
I think this is an excuse from Argentina to lean on due to the number of missed one on ones with the keeper.
I’m honestly amazed there were only two goals last night. Should’ve been close to 10 goals between the two sides.
It will be interesting to see if the negative publicity of the pitch translates to any changes by MBS going forward. Good thing the World Cup match allocations are already set. But if more players keep trashing the surface, we may not get many more international matches after 2026.
I don’t remember much of a negative reaction from the teams after the EPL friendlies last year so you’d think there’s a way to do it better.
didn’t they lay down the grass like two days ago? maybe it just need more time for the grass to settle down
AJC Doug said it was put down Sunday, even though the Argentina manager kept saying “2 days”
well I guess we will see how US and Panama feel about the grass next week.
I don’t really know why they can’t just play on the turf installed, but I guess that’s a FIBA thing?
I think FIFA requires it for all sanctioned competitions.
70,564 was the announced attendance. amazing crowd and 90% argentina. yes, the pitch was apparently awful (looked great to see grass down there..i’m not gonna lie), but the match was exciting.
marsch had his side playing very bravely against the world champions, but in the end they just couldn’t match argentina’s offensive prowess.
this was a match that could have just as easily been 6-1 or 6-2, if not for all the messiness around goal.
You could see the seams on TV
yeah…it didn’t look like the ball was taking any weird bounces, and the grass wasn’t getting chewed up very much at all. but i guess from the comments, it felt very springy/spongy and unnatural.
i would bet that fifa will demand some sort of solution before wc starts
Did atlanta make a good account of itself? Yes.
Great? No. Gotta do better with the playing surface.
it did make a good account last night, but will be embarrassing for USA game as it doesn’t look like too many tickets have been sold 🙁
Ticket prices look borderline extortionate, especially given the opponent.
Totally agree. I was able to get a couple on resale for less than the actual price. There is a lot of unsold in the middle area but they are too expensive. Not good; ticket master sucks; $70 service fee? Give me a break.
Yeah who wants to pay Bones prices for Applebees steak?
I didn´t know the game was in Atlanta, until I saw the stadium. How many people were there? It looked really full. I was curious if many Atlanta fans were there, or it was really Canadians, and Argentinians?
I liked the atmosphere, the football was fine (actually, I thought it was better than what we have been having at the Euros), and Argentina did not really use all its gears. I now realize that more Concacaf countries are playing, so this is a very different Copa America! Well, this means we might play competitively, Brasil x USA?
I like your National Team. I think there is a lot of talent, and they are not scared. This is, by a good margin, the most talented US team ever. Let´s see how they fare, and Argentina is the team to beat, although Uruguay could surprise. Brasil, well, the team is in rebuild mode, so, no idea what they can deliver. I am just happy Neymar is not wearing our uniform.
And, congrats on your win. It was a strange game, in a very bad field, right? DC look like a cheap club, are they?
I was very impressed with Miami, playing with some first team players, some second, and even third, and managing to win. I think Tata is doing a splendid job in finding talent, and managing the tactics.
Anyway, let´s see what Copa America will bring us. It must be great to be able to watch those games live! Oh, did Atlanta change the field to grass?
Best Copa, and may the best win, unless they are playing us.
Hola Marcelo, I hope you and Brasil are recovering from the massive flood. I agree we are the team to beat, but you never know. The Benz had grass field and it was firm and fast, we should really switch permanently. Tickets are very expensive were Arg is involved mid field second tier $484 field level double that upper level around $200 but players look like ants. As far as AU fans at the game I can’t say I would guess probably a small percentage. On MLS side Tata is indeed doing a great job but my gut tells me Cincinnati is the team to beat ( see YouTube for highlights Acosta is incredible scored game winner @ 90+10 and game before that 1G 3A,
Thank you for all your comments,
VAMOS ARGENTINA
Great to see grass! Now I see some Argentinian players complained, and you could see during the game that they had problems controlling the ball. But, if it is a recent field, it will settle better in the next days. I think CIncinnatti are really not that good, but they have consistency, and this number 10 who gives the team an edge. If Atlanta gets this consistent, than Almada can do that better, I think. Thanks for the wishes, and we are recovering (this is the area I am originally from), but these days, it is more about rebuilding having climate change as a reference. Just rebuilding is only good until it rains again, and it will. Best of luck in the Copa!
I enjoyed the match. Canada played well and if they had just a little better quality strikers, the result would’ve been different. To me, the biggest take, was how well Argentina defended, even though they were caught a few times in transition, wow, they give it all tackling and chasing the ball and defend as a team. AU midfielders and fullbacks should really take a good look and try to play like that. It confirms how soft our midfield and defense really is, we suck. Don’t care what people say here but Wiley and Lennon can not defend, Muyumba doesn’t tackle aggressively, our CB’s can’t play from the back and are not quick enough to play at a high level. Watching this game and the euros explains why we give up so many easy goals. This Copa is going to be fun.
i think argentina’s midfield and 3/4 of their back line played very well. i thought molina had a pretty bad game at rb. davies torched him any time he wanted and molina really had no answer. bad positioning and just couldn’t keep up with the pace. but almost every time davies whipped a cross in, the ball was wasted.
romero imo might have had the best match of any defender on either side. dude is a one man defensive destroyer (full disclosure: COYS!).
canada really played bravely imo. no bunkering and certainly weren’t intimidated by the stars on the other side.
Argentina was amazing in their tackles, true. I think they had trouble controlling the ball, and I thought it might have to do with young grass.
I don’t know who all bought the tickets, but Atlanta is definitely a melting pot – most people who live here are not from here. It’s likely a lot of the fans there were local and also fans of Argentina (or at least Messi), but I can’t know for sure. Probably 70,000+ were there.
I am astounded at the prices. Copa America games never cost this much!!!
$400- for just ok seats
That´s insane. Who decided this? Conmebol doesn´t charge that much for Copa America.
Well, they are considering playing more Copas in the US since they can make more $$$