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Boy, does this man love to carry Argentina on his shoulders! After conceding a 91st-minute equaliser, the Aston Villa goalkeeper pulled off another heroic performance during penalties to see Argentina scrape by Ecuador. In his four penalty shootouts, he’s faced a total of 18 penalties and saved eight of them!
RB: Jon Aramburu (Venezuela)
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It was not meant to be for Venezuela, but the 21-year-old Real Sociedad defender broke out onto the international stage. Aramburu made two goal-line clearances, a staggering 11 tackles and assisted Salomon Rondon against Canada. Tournament-wide, he made 26 tackles and also won a penalty. All of that with just five caps to his name!
CB: Lisandro Martinez (Argentina)
An unlikely name opened the scoring for Argentina in the quarter-finals when the wide-open Manchester United man headed home at the back post. It goes down as his first international goal. Vital for club and country, as usual.
CB: Davinson Sanchez (Colombia)
The Galatasaray defender has played every minute of the tournament so far for Colombia and was vital to their clean sheet against Panama with a 100% tackle completion rate (four) and one aerial won. Colombia have only conceded twice in four games thanks to his interventions!
LB: Alphonso Davies (Canada)
Alphonso Davies quietly had an elite defensive showing for the #CanMNT today, showing the value he can bring at LB
Some key #s:
32/37 passing (86%)
5 passes into the final 3rd
5/6 tackles
2 interceptions
9 defensive actions
13 recoveries
8/16 duels
Led by example at the back pic.twitter.com/xfzObaFWhT
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) July 6, 2024
The Bayern Munich star is a growing influence for Canada on and off the pitch. The 23-year-old exorcised his demons from Qatar 2022 and converted his penalty in the shootout. Manager Jesse Marsch has also admitted that his role as the new captain has propelled Canada’s confidence and belief at this tournament.
CM: Fede Valverde (Uruguay)
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The Real Madrid star was all over the pitch against Brazil which helped Marcelo Bielsa’s men dictate control of the game. He registered three shots (two of which tested Alisson), one key pass, one dribble, one aerial won, five tackles and converted the first penalty. A well-rounded performance!
CM: Manuel Ugarte (Uruguay)
Another Uruguayan earns a nod thanks to the midfield partnership he created with his team-mate above. The Paris Saint-Germain man was the metronome, constantly sending Uruguay forward with quick-thinking passes, and had a 90% pass completion rate against Brazil plus two key passes. His extremely calm penalty also secured the win.
CAM: James Rodriguez (Colombia)
Of course, we have to include the Player of the Tournament contender. Colombia’s captain has a staggering five assists and one goal to his name, and he’s had a notable resurgence on the big stage. The former Golden Boy of Colombian football leads his team on the pitch in their 27-game unbeaten run and has not hinted at slowing down! Can he guide them all the way?
RW: Rodrygo (Brazil)
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While Brazil failed to turn into the powerhouse of the past, the man who wore No. 10 didn’t have an individual performance that was too bad. The Real Madrid forward had two shots, four successful dribbles, one aerial won and one tackle. It was his trickiness on the wing that welcomed a challenge Nahitan Nández and ultimately saw him sent off had Brazil a big advantage.
ST: Salomon Rondon (Venezuela)
A Venezuelan legend. The 34-year-old C.F. Pachuca striker scored the best goal of the quarter-final round. His cheeky chip against Canada was the furthest goal (39.6 meters) in a Copa América match since Opta data was available (2011). He also became Venezuela’s all-time top scorer in the competition (seven) and converted his penalty.
LW: Jacob Shaffelburg (Canada)
Jacob Shaffelburg penned his name into Canadian Soccer history last night, solidifying himself as a star that’s here to stay for the national team. 🇨🇦
– 1 goal
– 1 big chance created
– 2 shots on target
– 36 touches, 5 in the opposition’s box
– 1/2 accurate long balls
– 2/2… pic.twitter.com/fsZ1PS8BwN
— Canadian Soccer Talk (@CANFutbolTalk) July 6, 2024
One of the breakout stars in the tournament, the Nashville SC winger has emerged as an explosive, clutch performer for the Canadians. All three of his goals for his country occurred during a knockout game (including the one to help them reach the Copa América). The Canucks still struggle to find goals, but if they can get it right with this starlet, they might be onto something.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/best-xi-2024-copa-am-224600894.html
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Publish date : 2024-07-07 18:46:00
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