Argentina vs. Canada Prediction: Defending Champs Kick-Off Title Defense

Thursday evening the 2024 Copa America will officially commence with the reigning and defending champs Argentina kicking off against Canada. This Group A fixture will take place at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

This will be the second time ever that these two sides have clashed, with the first meeting happening in 2010 as Argentina rag-dolled Canada winning 5-0 in a friendly.

Argentina is looking to become back-to-back champions for the first time since Chile accomplished that feat in 2015 and 2016. La Selección overall in their last 20 contests has only suffered one defeat and is currently riding a five-game win streak. The Copa America 2024 favorites' most recent affair was a 4-1 win over Guatemala in a friendly, where Messi was up to his usual superstar performance, bagging two goals and adding an assist.

Meanwhile, Canada is presently in a transition period with the appointment of Jesse Marsch, who has two games under his belt.

Canada had competitive spells in their two tune-up games versus the Netherlands and France but only walked away with one point total. Les Rouges will be playing with the mindset that this tournament is all about building up the program toward the 2026 World Cup, which Canada will cohost along with Mexico and the United States.

Here, we will break down the betting odds and share our favorite picks for the Argentina vs Canada game at Copa America.

Argentina vs. Canada Betting Odds for Thursday, June 20

In the handicap spread market, the books think Argentina can win by two or more goals. Argentina -1.5 goals are priced at -115 in the 2-way handicap market while Canada +1.5 is listed at -125 to lose by less than two goals.

Argentina vs Canada Odds

Odds for the Argentina vs Canada matchup are taken from BetMGM Sportsbook. Use our promo code WSNMGM and get up to $1,500 in Bonus Bets (*Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l terms.)

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Argentina vs. Canada Betting Prediction

Argentina Preview

La Albiceleste is a squad that has a plethora of world-class talent at each position including one of the greatest ever to do it upfront on attack, Lionel Messi. This could be Messi’s last appearance with the national team in Copa America tournament play as he has yet to rule out his 2026 World Cup commitments. Messi is the most capped and the highest-scoring Argentinian amassing 108 goals in 182 national team appearances. The 36-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down as he found the back of the net 12 times while tallying nine assists in 12 MLS matches in 2024 with his club side Inter Miami.

Any team that employs Messi will overshadow the rest of the roster, which isn’t a slight towards his teammates it’s just the reality. Lautaro Martínez is another lethal threat in the striker position for Argentina as he has hit the back of the net on 24 occasions in 58 international caps. At club level in this past campaign, Martinez had a phenomenal showing, winning Serie A MVP and finishing as the league's top scorer with 24 while winning another league title with Inter Milan.

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Canada Preview

The Canadian men’s program has built up sooner than expected in the last five years. More than ever Canadians are playing abroad in Europe participating in top-level tournaments. One of those Canadians is Johnathan David whose current club is Lille in Ligue 1. David is Canada’s second-highest all-time goal scorer with 26. The 24-year-old constructed a solid club season hitting the score sheet 19 times in 34 league matches. It was the fourth straight year that David has hit double-digit goals in domestic league play.

Arguably Canada’s most recognized player globally and newly named captain is Alphonso Davies who plays with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. Coach Jesse Marsch prefers to play Davies at his natural position at fullback and feels it best suits the team to create balance on the pitch. Alphonso has 47 international caps to account for and has chalked up 15 goals.

We delve into more detail in our Canada at Copa America 2024 Prediction.

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Argentina vs. Canada - My Pick

Argentina is heavily priced to walk away with all three points on Thursday evening. This encounter will likely be the easiest opponent they will face in the group stage of Copa America 2024. Argentina will have all the eyes of the world on them, they will want to set the tone kicking off the tournament in a dominating fashion. If Argentina comes into this bout with a ruthless attitude it could spell for a long evening for Canada. While Canada does possess nice pieces, the level of class between them and Argentina is massively distant. Canada has shown they play counter-attacking soccer but the problem is consistency. Argentina doesn’t need many moments of brilliance to make the opposition pay. Think we will see Canada suffer to get anything going upfront while Argentina will suffocate and keep Canada pinned at the back possessing the ball keeping the pressure on.

• Argentina vs. Canada pick: Argentina -1.5 2-Way Handicap (-115) at BetMGM

Bet on Argentina -1.5 (-115) at BetMGM 

How to Watch Argentina vs. Canada

• When: Thursday, June 20, 8 p.m ET

• Where: Mercedes Benz Stadium

• TV: Fox Sports, TUDN