The first two Copa America quarterfinals will be played in Texas, as Lionel Messi and Argentina take on South American rivals Ecuador, while two of the rising nations in global football, Venezuela and Canada, face off in Dallas. Here is your look at both matches.
Argentina vs Ecuador (Thursday in Houston)
Steen Kirby: An opening match defeat against Venezuela put Ecuador in a challenging position in their Copa America 2024 group, the team did respond, dispatching a hapless Jamaica 3-1, before playing out a desperate draw against Mexico where they parked the bus, knowing the 0-0 result would be enough to reach the quarterfinals. Goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez was a standout in that match. It’s important to note that these teams just met in a friendly exhibition some weeks ago where Argentina slipped past for a 1-0 victory. Undefeated in 2024 with 7 consecutive wins, Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina have been excellent, and even if Lionel Messi is not 100% fitness wise, they have more than enough talent to get past a defensive minded Ecuador and reach the semifinals. Prediction: Argentina 1 Ecuador 0
Ben Gray: After going through the group stages with a perfect record, will Argentina remain on track to retain their Copa América title?
La Albiceleste largely cruised through the group phase, beating Canada 2-0, Chile 1-0 and then Peru 2-0 on Saturday night, with Lautaro Martínez on target in all three matches, including bagging a brace in Miami Gardens at the weekend.
Overall, Lionel Scaloni’s side have now lost just two of 42 competitive fixtures across the last five years, hence why the world champions were pre-tournament favourites to win a record-extending 16th Copa, with this still very much the case. So, it would be a major shock if those bedecked in sky blue and white are not celebrating come full time at NRG Stadium.
Ecuador meantime have not gone beyond the quarter-finals at any edition of the Copa América played away from home soil, dumped out at this stage by USA in 2016 and Argentina themselves three summers ago, so are dreaming of making history in the Lone Star State.
Félix Sánchez Bas’ side were beaten by Venezuela in their tournament opener in the San Francisco Bay Area, before bouncing back by beating Jamaica 3-1 at Allegiant Stadium four nights later.
This set up a straight shootout with Mexico for second spot on Sunday night, in which la Tricolor required just a draw, and that’s exactly what they earned in Arizona, holding out for a goalless stalemate that saw them sneak through on goal difference.
Now, ahead of this tie, to date, Ecuador have only ever won five of 40 head-to-head encounters with Argentina, the most-recent of these victories coming in 2015, never claiming victory in any of their 16 Copa clashes, losing 11 of them.
Meantime, la Albiceleste are unbeaten in seven match-ups against la Tri, winning six of them, including a 3-0 victory three years and one day ago in the same round of the same competition in Goiânia, also 1-0 winners during a friendly meeting at Soldier Field as recently as last month. Thus, Argentina’s quality will almost certainly see them to victory in Houston. Prediction: Argentina 2 Ecuador 0
Venezuela vs Canada (Friday in Dallas)
Steen: Both nations have a lot to be proud of this tournament, Canada defeated Peru and drew with Chile, along with a decent performance against Argentina, 4 points was enough to get second in their group and keep CONCACAF representation alive in this tournament. Venezuela are another rising nation, they conceded only once during the Copa America group stages, while scoring six goals against Ecuador, Mexico, and Jamaica. With a mix of experienced players and rising stars, this Venezuela team plays well together, Canada are defensively sound but Venezuela are as well and they should play with a bit more attacking freedom, I expect them to advance. Prediction: Venezuela 2 Canada 1
Ben: Few would’ve predicted this as a Copa América quarter-final match-up, so what an opportunity it is for both to reach the last four.
Prior to this edition, since debuting at the competition in 1967, Venezuela had only ever won eight of 70 Copa América matches, eliminated in the group stages during 15 of their 19 appearances at the tournament.
Thus, to describe what la Vinotinto have achieved this summer as remarkable and unexpected would be a colossal understatement, with Fernando Batista’s team topping Group B on maximum points, something surely no one could’ve forecast before a ball was kicked.
First, they came from a goal down to beat ten-man Ecuador 2-1 at Levi’s Stadium, before Salomón Rondón’s spot-kick was enough to defeat Mexico at SoFi Stadium, silencing the partisan, pro-el Tri crowd in California.
Then, on Sunday night, Venezuela claimed their joint-most emphatic Copa América victory of all-time, equaling the record set 57 years ago, swatting Jamaica aside 3-0 in Austin, with Eduard Bello, Rondón and Eric Ramírez all on target. So now, as they travel 186 miles north, across Texas, can la Vinotinto equal their best-ever Copa performance by reaching the semi-finals?
Canada meantime are making their debut at this competition, having to overcome Trinidad & Tobago in March’s play-in game just to be here, so few were backing les Rouges to get out of their group.
Jesse Marsch’s team were beaten 2-0 by Argentina on opening night but are unbeaten since, most-crucially beating Peru 1-0 in Kansas City, with Jonathan David snatching victory late on at Children’s Mercy Park.
This meant that the Canucks required just a point against Chile on Sunday night to retain second spot and, despite the fact their supporters were overwhelmingly outnumbered in the stands, Canada battled to a goalless draw in Florida, securing an historic spot in the knockout stages.
So now, can the 2026 World Cup co-hosts upset the odds again and continue their excellent Copa campaign? These two nations have only ever met twice before, both friendlies and both ending in draws, 2-2 in Maracaibo in 2007 and 1-1 in Mérida three years later. This clash at AT&T Stadium is very tough to call, but who will be celebrating a spot in the semis in Arlington, Texas? Prediction: Venezuela 2 Canada 1
