Lionel Messi scored his 109th international goal and first of the tournament, leading defending champion Argentina to a 2-0 victory over Canada on Tuesday night and into the Copa America final.
Julián Álvarez gave Argentina the lead in the 22nd minute and Messi deflected Enzo Fernández's shot past goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau in the 51st. Messi has 28 goals in his last 25 games for Argentina and 14 in the Copa América, three shy of the record.
Only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 130, has more men's international goals than Messi, who turned 37 on June 24.
With a victory on Independence Day, Argentina extended its unbeaten streak to 10 matches. Albiceleste will seek their 16th Copa title when they play Uruguay or Colombia on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
In an attempt to string together consecutive Copa América championships until the 2022 World Cup, Argentina is seeking to match Spain's feat by The Red He won the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, as well as the World Championships in 2010.
Argentina fans gathered in Times Square on the eve of the match and lined the streets of Manhattan before heading to MetLife Stadium, the site of the 2026 World Cup final. The crowd of 80,102 on a night with temperatures of 82 degrees and humidity of 82% was overwhelmingly pro-Argentina, with only a few sections dominated by Canadian fans dressed in red.
It was one of the biggest games for Canadian soccer, which went 0-6 in its only World Cup appearances in 1986 and 2022 and won its only major title at the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. Argentina had beaten Canada 2-0 in the tournament's opening match on June 20.
Canadian star Alphonso Davies limped off after his right leg was caught in a clear cross with Gonzalo Montiel and was replaced in the 71st minute.
Making his 38th Copa America appearance, Messi missed Argentina's group stage final with a leg injury and looked weakened while playing the full 90 minutes in the quarter-final win over Ecuador.
In the 12th minute, after exchanging passes with Ángel Di María, he shot wide from the edge of the area, he shot wide again in the 44th minute and he shot over the crossbar in added time of the first half.
MetLife's temporary turf surface looked heavy, with water and sand splashing up during drips.
Argentina took the lead after Rodrigo De Paul played a long ball from the centre circle to Alvarez, who touched the ball high on goal to control Moïse Bombito's ball. Alvarez then touched it again to create space for Bombito and from near the penalty spot he slotted the ball through Crépeau's legs for his ninth goal in 35 international appearances.
Messi scored from a throw-in. He crossed the ball to De Paul, who ran to the byline and crossed back. Koné's attempted clearance fell to Fernández, who set up a shot that Messi deflected from inside the six-yard box.
Jonathan David was thwarted by Emiliano Martinez from close range in first-half stoppage time, and Martinez saved Tani Oluwaseyi's shot in the 80th minute.
