Canada made their Copa América debut on Thursday night, falling 2-0 to reigning champions, and World Cup holders, Argentina.

Jesse Marsch named an unchanged starting lineup from the team that drew 0-0 with World Cup finalists France earlier this month. That performance against the second-ranked team in the world could only be made tougher on paper by facing one other team — the world number one Argentinians.

The two sides were pretty evenly matched in the first half. Argentina had more of the ball and put a lot of pressure on Canada, but Les Rouges didn’t back down from the challenge at all and had several opportunities to take the lead themselves.

After a scoreless first half, Argentina took the lead moments after play resumed — with Maxime Crépeau on the ground after coming out of his net to challenge Alexis Mac Allister, Julián Álvarez fired the ball into the net to open the scoring. La Albiceleste kept piling the pressure on as Canada were forced to attack more as time in the second half ticked away and they looked to pick up a result, and Lautaro Martínez doubled the lead in the 88th minute to seal the deal.

Here’s how the Canadian players performed in their first group stage match.

Starters

Maxime Crépeau – 8/10

Making several crucial stops in this match, Maxime Crépeau kept Canada in the game at times, especially in the scoreless first half. No moment showed that better than a huge denial on Ángel Di María eight minutes in, halting a fast counter-attack up entire length of the pitch. Crépeau was a calming presence behind a heavily-tested backline on the night, making six saves in a standout performance.

Argentina with a chance but Maxime Crépeau holds them off! #CA2024 pic.twitter.com/CaYYDMNyZi

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 21, 2024

Alistair Johnston– 6.5/10

In a match as physical as this one ended up being, players like Alistair Johnston can really get stuck in and make an impact that won’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. Johnston made several important tackles down the right side, but didn’t have a huge impact going forward. He combined well a few times with Jacob Shaffelburg once he replaced Tajon Buchanan in the 60th minute, but Canada focused a lot of their attacks down the left instead in this match. Like several of his teammates, there is room for Johnston to grow into this tournament, and playing the most difficult opponent in the entire tournament right off the bat was a strong test that he mostly passed.

Moïse Bombito – 7.5/10

Facing one of the biggest challenges of his career thus far, Moïse Bombito once again showed his composure on a huge stage. He set the tone early with a big tackle on Alexis Mac Allister, and throughout the match used his athleticism to get back and make some crucial stops against Argentina’s speedy attack. Canada got burned a few times defensively in the second half as Canada pushed forward to try and find a goal, but overall it was another solid performance from the rising star.

Derek Cornelius – 7.5/10

Making a pair of huge blocks on Lionel Messi in this match, Derek Cornelius is a big reason why this match was scoreless after 45 minutes, and only ended 2-0. The first block came in the 18th minute, after Messi snuck in behind and got a shot from close range. The second came when Messi was alone on goal and had his initial shot saved by Maxime Crépeau, before Cornelius blocked the chipped follow-up effort that seemed destined for the back of the net. Canada’s backline, including Cornelius, was caught flat footed a few times in the second half as Argentina played several passes down the pitch to try and extend their lead, but the score could have been a lot worse than 2-0 if not for the Malmö centre-back.

Alphonso Davies – 6.5/10

In his first match as Canada’s permanent captain, Alphonso Davies once again showed flashes of his brilliant best, but didn’t sustain it for the full ninety minutes. His pace couldn’t be matched down Canada’s left side, and he burned the Argentinian defenders a few times to set up chances for his teammates with his trademark cutback passes. Combining well with Liam Millar, his overlapping runs wreaked havoc repeatedly. Davies missed a big opportunity to score on a rebound just before halftime, failing to hit the target, and his set pieces weren’t at the level they need to be once again.

Tajon Buchanan – 5.5/10

Tajon Buchanan made some good runs down the right flank in his hour of work, but largely struggled to have as big an impact on this match as everyone knows he can have. Buchanan combined well with Cyle Larin on Stephen Eustáquio’s headed chance late in the first half, but for large parts of his time on the pitch he was lacking the ability to beat players one-on-one that he often thrives on. Buchanan’s off-balance shot in the first half wasted what was seemed to be a promising opportunity for Canada to open the lead in the 30th minute.

Ismaël Koné – 6/10

Ismaël Koné’s movement off the ball is crucial to how Canada plays, and it was again on Thursday night as he drifted around and found pockets of space to receive passes from his teammates. Koné was lacking a bit of sharpness at times, losing possession a team-high 13 times, but he also made a handful of important defensive plays in midfield. Toward the end of the match he was starting to get frustrated and started diving into reckless tackles, and was replaced by Osorio in the 85th minute moments after getting booked moments earlier.

Stephen Eustáquio – 6.5/10

Stephen Eustáquio put in a solid performance in the middle of the park, controlling a lot of Canada’s play through the middle of the pitch and battling hard against Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes. Unfortunately, from a Canadian perspective this game might be remembered for his header late in the first half. Making a run into the box to get onto the end of a cross from Cyle Larin, Eustáquio sent his header right at Emiliano Martínez from close range, when heading it to either side would have probably resulted in Canada taking a lead into halftime.

Liam Millar – 6.5/10

Liam Millar’s main role in this Canada side is to complement Alphonso Davies down the left wing, and he did that very well in this match. By playing centrally a bit more, Millar created space for Davies to make his runs up and down the flank, past Millar to challenge the defenders. Millar also covered sometimes defensively for Davies, making a trio of clearances during an 85-minute shift. Like the rest of Canada’s attack, there is a bit more to be desired going forward, but considering the circumstances and opponents, it was a strong night overall for Millar.

Jonathan David – 6/10

Defensively, Jonathan David put in a shift defensively, working well with Cyle Larin to press the Argentinian defenders high up the pitch. From an attacking perspective, David struggled to get a lot of touches on the ball, and missed a wide open header from a few yards out in the second half which could have tied the match. He played his role well, and the next evolution for David is to take advantage of one of his chances to put the ball into the back of the net.

Jonathan David just misses the potential equalizer! #CA2024 pic.twitter.com/rCxoqLYQzi

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 21, 2024

Cyle Larin – 6.5/10

Similar to Jonathan David, Cyle Larin played his role well in Jesse Marsch’s system, pressing high up the pitch and cutting down some of Argentina’s attempts to build out from the back. Spending some of this match out wide as well, Larin fired an excellent cross into the penalty area to set up Canada’s best chance of the first half, a header by Stephen Eustáquio from close range that would be stopped by Emiliano Martínez.

Substitutes

Jacob Shaffelburg – 7.5/10

After coming off the bench to replace Tajon Buchanan just before the hour mark, Jacob Shaffelburg was arguably Canada’s best player. The Maritime Messi, as some call him, played with the fearlessness that his Argentine counterpart has for so many years, and used his pace well to cause troubles for the Argentinian backline. He ran at them on several occasions, and thought he won a free kick on the edge of the penalty area when he was tripped up by a defender, but the referee refused to call anything. His also pressed high up the pitch, using his speed to close down opponents and trap them deep in their own half. It was a cross from Shaffelburg that found the head of Jonathan David late in the half, but David couldn’t get it on target to tie the match.

Richie Laryea – 5/10

Richie Laryea, making his 50th national team appearance on Thursday night, replaced Cyle Larin in the 80th minute and took over at left back. This allowed Alphonso Davies to move even higher up the pitch, although it meant Laryea didn’t really make his own runs forward in his very limited time on the pitch. Laryea was one of the players back defending as Lautaro Martínez doubled Argentina’s lead late, but was a great pass from Lionel Messi split several Canadian defenders.

Jonathan Osorio – 5/10

Osorio replaced Ismaël Koné in the 85th minute, and didn’t really have much time to make an impact on the match, only touching the ball once. Argentina scored their second goal three minutes after Osorio came onto the pitch, but he wasn’t close enough to the action to affect it in any way despite a lung-busting run back to defend.

Jacen Russell-Rowe – 5/10

Like Osorio, Jacen Russell-Rowe didn’t have much time to make a huge impact on this match, replacing Liam Millar in the 85th minute. He had a couple of touches on the ball, but didn’t have a real opportunity to do anything with it.