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On Sunday, at the Inter & Co. Stadium in Florida, tournament rookies Canada and Chile squared off in an attempt to punch their ticket to the 2024 Copa America knockout stages.
The two nations, divided by two points in Group A, have never faced off in a competitive or non-competitive match before.
Head-to-Head and Previous Matches
On Wednesday, at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas, Canada created history by defeating 10-man Peru in a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the oppressive heat of nearly 100 degrees.
The dismissal of Peruvian defender Miguel Araujo for a stud-showing tackle just before the hour mark turned the game in Canada's favor, and in-demand talisman Jonathan David scored the game-winning goal 16 minutes from time to celebrate his 50th cap.
After losing 2-0 to Argentina last week, Canada's first three games under new head coach Jesse Marsch—albeit friendly games against the Netherlands (4-0) and France (0-0)—failed to win or even score. Nevertheless, Marsch can take many positives from their historic triumph over Peru.
With three points, the Reds have moved to second place in Group A; a win on Sunday would guarantee their place in the quarterfinals. If Peru doesn't pull off a massive shock against group leader Argentina, a draw might also be sufficient to advance.
Just two times this century has Canada defeated a CONMEBOL opponent—they beat Colombia in the 2000 Gold Cup final. At this summer's competition, the Reds, ranked 48th in the world by FIFA, can put their names in history once more with victory over a Chilean team that hasn't yet created a stir.
With only one point from their initial two Group A games against Peru and Argentina, two-time Copa America champions Chile (winners in 2015 and 2016) risk missing the group stage for the first time since 2004.
On the first day of play, La Roja and Peru could not score, but on Wednesday, they lost 1-0 to Argentina, the current champions, thanks to an 88th-minute strike by substitute Lautaro Martinez.
Only four men have coached at five different Copa Americas. Ricardo Gareca acknowledged after the game that it "hurt" to lose by a late goal and that his Chilean team "are going to leave everything" on the field in Sunday's pivotal match against Canada.
Chile is now third in Group A, two points behind second-placed Canada and even on points with Peru in fourth. For La Roja to place among the top two, they must defeat Canada and surpass Peru's performance against Argentina.
Restoring Chile's form in the final third is one of Gareca's main goals before Sunday's game; La Roja have only scored four of their 14 shots on goal at this summer's competition, compared to eight goals in Gareca's first three international matches in charge earlier this year.
Our Predictions
Full-time draw @3.30 on Sky247.ng
This weekend might bring a fiercely contested match between two teams with different degrees of Copa America experience. While some may view Chile, who must win to maintain their knockout ambitions, as minor favorites, we can see an enthusiastic Canada team taking at least a piece of the spoils this time.
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