Lautaro's late goal sends Argentina into quarterfinals

Fill in for Argentina beat Chile 1-0 in the 88th minute thanks to a goal scored by Lautaro Martinez. This put Argentina in the quarterfinals of the Copa America on Tuesday.

The match was a nail-biter from the start. Lionel Messi's shot hit the post in the first half, but Emiliano Martinez, their custodian, kept the World Cup winners in the game. The tension was palpable as the match progressed, and it was Lautaro's late goal that finally broke the deadlock, ending a thrilling game in front of 82,000 fans at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

There were numerous opportunities for the 15-time Copa America winners to take the lead much earlier, but they were unable to find the target. Chile's 41-year-old custodian Claudio Bravo played brilliantly, keeping the score tied and the audience on the edge of their seats.

It was the home of the NFL's New York Jets and New York Giants and the site of the 2026 World Cup final. It was turned into Argentina's home stadium, and Messi and his team ruled in front of the excited crowd for the first few minutes.

In the 22nd minute, Messi's strike partner, Julian Alvarez, took a shot from the right side of the box that Bravo saved. Nicolas Gonzalez had pulled the ball back from the byline.

Messi was being slowed down by Chile, who sometimes had three players in front of him. However, in the 36th minute, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner came close to scoring with a shot from 25 yards that just missed the post.

After the break, Bravo did a great job to block Nahuel Molina's shot at the near post. He then quickly pushed Nicolas Gonzalez's hard drive over the bar.

However, Chile made a threat on the break, and Emiliano Martinez had to be at his best twice to stop Rodrigo Echeverria's drives.

However, one crucial moment was when Chile failed to clear Messi's corner kick, and Lautaro Martinez scored to win it.

Canada down Peru

When Angel Di Maria set Lautaro free, he should have scored a second goal, but the World Cup winners' one goal was enough to make it two wins in a row and move on to the next round with a game to spare.

Other Copa America games on Tuesday included a 1-0 win for Canada over Peru in Kansas City, which was very hot. Jonathan David scored the only goal.

Premier League teams Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in Lille scorer David. David again showed his eye for the goal with an excellent finish, giving Canada all three points against Peru's 10 players at the Children's Mercy Park Stadium.

One of the two referees' helpers passed out from heat stress just before halftime during a game played in the blazing afternoon sun. The temperature on the field was approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

Last week, Canada lost its first game of the event 2-0 to Argentina. In the second half, Peru was down to 10 players after Miguel Araujo was sent off for a bad hit on replacement Jacob Shaffelburg, which led to a fight between players from both teams.

Referee Mario Escobar initially gave Araujo a yellow card for his rough studs-up charge on Shaffelburg, but after a VAR review, the punishment was made worse.

That red card turned a close game in Canada's favor, and David's goal 74 minutes after a long counterattack by Canada finally broke through.

Shaffelburg, a left midfielder, made a tremendous first-time cross-field pass to David. David took one touch without stopping and scored with his right foot, beating Pedro Gallese, the Peru custodian.

When Peru tried to tie the game, they pushed forward, but Canada's Maxime Crepeau made a tremendous one-handed reaction save on Christian Cueva's shot and then saved Paolo Guerrero's free kick in extra time.