Argentina took the lead in the 22nd minute through Julian Alvarez, and Messi doubled the advantage in the 51st minute by redirecting Enzo Fernandez’s shot into the goal, beating goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
Messi’s impressive tally of 28 goals in his last 25 matches for Argentina, including 14 in Copa America, puts him just three shy of the record.
With 130 international goals, only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more than Messi. Iran’s Al Daei, who played from 1993 to 2006, had either 108 or 109 goals, with a lingering dispute over the validity of a goal against Ecuador in 2000.
Argentina’s victory on its independence day extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games. The Albiceleste are aiming for a record 16th Copa title when they face either Uruguay or Colombia in the final on Sunday at Miami Gardens, Florida.
The Argentine team is striving to emulate the feat achieved by Spain, who won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships along with the 2010 World Cup, by securing back-to-back Copa America titles around their 2022 World Cup triumph.
Argentine fans gathered in Times Square the night before the match and filled the streets of Manhattan before making their way to MetLife Stadium, the venue for the 2026 World Cup final. The crowd of 80,102 spectators, despite the heat and humidity, was overwhelmingly in support of Argentina, with only a few sections dominated by red-clad Canadian fans.
This match was among the most significant for Canadian football, as the nation had previously gone winless in its only World Cup appearances in 1986 and 2022, with their sole major title coming at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Argentina had already beaten Canada 2-0 in the tournament opener on June 20.
Canada’s star performer Alphonso Davies was forced to leave the field in the 71st minute after his right leg was caught in a clean challenge with Gonzalo Montiel.
Messi, making his 38th Copa America appearance, had missed Argentina’s group stage finale due to a leg injury and played a subdued 90 minutes in the quarterfinal victory over Ecuador. He narrowly missed the target from the top of the penalty area in the 12th minute after exchanging passes with Ángel Di María, and again in the 44th minute, before chipping the ball over the crossbar in first-half injury time.
Argentina took the lead when Rodrigo De Paul played a long pass from the center circle to Álvarez, who controlled the ball at the top of the arc, away from Moise Bombito. Álvarez then created space from Bombito and slipped the ball between the legs of Crepeau from near the penalty spot, scoring his ninth goal in 35 international appearances.
Messi scored following a throw-in, centering the ball to De Paul, who ran to the end line and cut the ball back. Kone’s attempted clearance went to Fernandez, who teed up a shot that Messi redirected from just inside the 6-yard box.