—- Canada, led by captain Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich, and former Leipzig coach Jesse Marsch have reached the Copa semi-finals despite having scored only two real-time goals.
In the quarter-finals in Dallas the Canadians defeated Venezuela 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Jacob Shaffelburg put Canada ahead in the 13th minute after preparatory work by Jonathan David. In celebration he held up the shirt of team-mate Tajon Buchanan, the Inter Milan midfielder who had broken a shinbone in training.
Venezuela grew in strength after halftime and Salomon Rondon equalised in the 64th minute with a spectacular, 40-meter lob over goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
Copa America ties go straight to penalties when scores are level at 90 minutes. Yangel Herrera and Jefferson Savarino missed for Venezuela as did Canada’s Liam Millar and Stephen Eustaquio. Davies safely converted his kick, Venezuela’s Wilker Angel missed and Ismael Koné struck the decisive kick.
In the semifinals, Canada will again face title-holders and world champions Argentina who won, also on penalties, against Ecuador.
The group stage saw Canada lose 2-0 to Argentina before reaching the knockout round with a 1-0 win against Peru and a 0-0 draw against Chile.
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