Lionel Messi squandered some of his own chances but had a hand in both goals when Argentina beat Canada 2–0 in the opening match of the South American Championships.
But Canada put up a good fight for long periods and their coach Jesse Marsch wanted Argentina to be penalised for delaying the start of the second half.
If we had been five minutes late, we would have been penalised, said Marsch after the match.
We'll see what happens to Argentina, he added.
The Canadian players were left waiting on the pitch, ready to play, while the Argentinians lingered in the dressing room before eventually emerging onto the newly laid natural grass pitch at the stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Marsch knew, he said, that the Argentinians were sitting analysing Canada on video.
When Argentina finally emerged after the half-time break, it took only four minutes for them to take the lead. A sublime through-ball from Messi to Mac Allister eventually found its way to Julian Alvarez, also of Manchester City, who made no mistake.
With two minutes of normal time remaining, Inter's Lautaro Martinez made it 2–0 after an opening pass from Messi.
