It’s finally here. The 2024 Copa America starts Thursday as defending champions Argentina raise the curtain on the CONMEBOL championship with a group match in Atlanta against guest participants Canada.

After playing most of his international career as the best player never to win a major trophy, Lionel Messi will look to win his third straight after securing titles in the 2020 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup.

The Albiceleste have what appears to be a cakewalk to the 2024 final, as all the most in-form teams in the competition, like Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia and the United States, are on the opposite side of the bracket. Meanwhile, the best their side has to offer appears to be Ecuador, Venezuela and a down Mexico.

Canada are under new management as American boss Jesse Marsch, who was hired only around a month ago, will make his competitive debut with Les Rouges. It’s unclear how heavily he will look to implement his Red Bull-bred high-pressing scheme that would be massively risky against top-tier opponents such as this.

Argentina vs. Canada prediction, odds

• Moneyline lean: Argentina (-300)
• Score prediction: Argentina 2-0 Canada

Argentina won’t face a Copa America title contender until the final, and failing to reach that stage would be an enormous disappointment. In truth, they should win every game comfortably up to that point, although winning “comfortably” for Argentina can sometimes end up as 1-0 or 2-0 victories.

Canada will give them a fight as they have many opponents in recent years, but in the end, the fledgling CONCACAF contenders make far too many individual errors to have a chance at an early upset. It’s rare that 1/3 odds present “value” but for Argentina here, it probably should be more like 1/4 or 1/5.

Argentina vs. Canada match facts

• Date: Thursday, Jun. 20, 2024
• Kickoff Time: 8 p.m. local (5 p.m. PT / 1 a.m. UK*)
• Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA)
• Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
• Last meeting: None (First meeting)

* Indicates following day

Argentina vs. Canada best bet

• Pick: Argentina to win to nil
• Odds: -110 (BetMGM)

Canada have lots of attacking talent, but they struggle to retain the ball and spring counter-attacks. Les Rouges failed to score a single goal in their two Copa America warmup friendlies against the Netherlands and France, and while, sure, that’s top-tier competition, look at who they’re playing here.

Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David were enormously isolated in the buildup against their recent European opponents — those two combined for 12 touches in the opposition box over the course of both friendlies, and Davies completed a combined 75 passes despite touching the ball 182 times.

Argentina are masters at securing a lead and smothering opponents into submission, and Canada can be easily smothered. If the CONCACAF underdogs fail to snatch an early goal like Guatemala did in their recent friendly against Argentina, this game will get bogged down in midfield and leave Canada with no way of finding the net.

Argentina vs. Canada prop bet

• Pick: Under 2.5 total goals
• Odds: +100 (BetMGM)

Argentina do not run up the score on opponents with regularity unless forced to do so, like in their memorable 2022 World Cup final against France. In fact, the Albiceleste have won a game to nil by more than three goals just four times since the end of the 2018 World Cup, and all were in friendlies.

The last time Argentina won a game to nil by 4+ goals in a competitive match was a 4-0 Copa America semifinal victory over the United States way back in the summer of 2016. In the eight years since, they’ve won just eight competitive matches by at least three-goal margin overall, with seven of those by a 3-0 score.

Canada were torn to shreds by the Netherlands, who are a high-energy team, but Les Rouges managed to keep a lid on their friendly in a scoreless draw against France, who play much more similarly to Argentina.

Argentina vs. Canada live stream, TV channel

The English-language broadcast rights to the 2024 Copa America domestically in the United States are owned by Fox Sports, which will place most games on FS1 because conflicts with Euro 2024, which Fox is also televising. FS1 is available to stream on Fubo, which is offering a free trial for new users.

A Spanish-language broadcast can also be found on TUDN and Univision, both of which are also available to stream on Fubo.

In Canada, this match can be found televised on CTV Two as well as TSN1 and TSN4, who both stream the game on their dedicated platforms as well. A French-language broadcast can be accessed on RDS 2.

In the UK, the entirety of the Copa America will be televised on Premier Sports 1, with streaming on their platform Premier Sports player.