Matchday two at the Copa America begins with tournament debutants Canada seeking their first points of this competition when they face Peru on Tuesday at Children's Mercy Park.

In their opening match, the Peruvians held Chile to a 0-0 draw, while the Canucks were beaten 2-0 by the reigning champions Argentina.

Match preview

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For most of their opening game, Peru were on the back foot, though they rarely looked in danger in what was a rather dull encounter.

While Jorge Fossati's side only had 35% of the possession, they were solid defensively, holding their opponents to just a single effort on target.

Los Incas have not conceded in a single encounter this month while posting a clean sheet in their previous two Copa America group fixtures, dating back to 2021.

That matchday one draw extended their unbeaten run to six in all competitions, and they now have points in four consecutive group games at this tournament.

While they are not the most prolific South American side in terms of goals, Peru have not been held off the scoresheet in consecutive games since following up a 1-0 defeat to Brazil last September with a 2-0 loss against Chile a month later.

They have won their last four encounters versus CONCACAF opponents and have not lost against that region since September 2022 (1-0 to Mexico).

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Although they came away with nothing in their opener, the Canadians showed plenty of fight and had their opportunities to cause a massive upset against the world champions.

According to Opta, Canada took seven shots in the opening half of that contest, the most for any side against Argentina after 45 minutes since November 2021.

That was their first defeat on American soil in normal time since losing the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League final versus the USA (2-0).

Jesse Marsch has seen his players grow by leaps and bounds over the past couple of weeks, following up a 4-0 defeat versus the Netherlands with a 0-0 result against World Cup runners-up France before keeping the Argentines off the scoresheet in the opening half.

The 10 combined goals they conceded in their previous six competitive fixtures were all in the second half, while they have only scored two goals in the opening 45 minutes since their Gold Cup defeat versus the USA on penalties last July.

Les Rouges have only beaten a CONMEBOL opponent once this century, defeating Colombia in the 2000 Gold Cup final, while they lost their only meeting with Peru 2-0 in 2012.

Team News

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On Tuesday Peru could be missing Luis Advincula, who sustained what appeared to be an Achilles injury in their opener and was replaced by Marcos Lopez after 35 minutes.

Three-time Copa America Golden Boot winner and record Peruvian goalscorer Paolo Guerrero needs one more strike to match the late Teodoro Fernandez for the most all-time with Los Blancos in this competition (15).

Andre Carrillo will again be seeking his 100th cap for the national team, while Advincula remains one appearance behind Guerrero for third all-time with Los Incas.

After missing most of the domestic campaign through injury, Richie Laryea has featured in the last two matches for Canada, collecting his 50th cap in the defeat to Argentina, while Jonathan David can reach that same milestone on Tuesday.

Record goalscorer Cyle Larin and Samuel Piette are tied for ninth in all-time appearances for the national team, though the latter has not featured since their defeat against the Netherlands.

Captain Alphonso Davies can move into a tie with Alex Bunbury and Junior Hoilett for eighth in all-time goals, with the Bayern Munich wing-back currently on 15 with the national team.

Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Araujo, Zambrano, Callens; Polo, Pena, Cartagena, Quispe, Lopez; Lapadula, Flores

Canada possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Johnston, Bombito, Cornelius, Davies; Buchanan, Kone, Eustaquio, Millar; David, Larin

We say: Peru 1-0 Canada

In these big tournaments, you have to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you, and just as we saw in the 2022 World Cup, Canada have not been able to find that decisive quality against superior opponents.

Peru may not possess as much attacking depth as the Canadians, but their rock-solid backline and experienced strikers have proven they can create a magical moment when needed.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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