da betsul： Jesse Marsch and Canada are off to the Copa America semifinals after narrowly sneaking past Venezuela on penalty kicks Friday evening.
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Canada advance to Copa America semifinalsDefeat Venezuela 1-1 (4-3) in penalty shootoutWill play Lionel Messi & Argentina next roundGetty ImagesTELL ME MORE
Canada defeated Venezuela in a penalty shootout Friday evening, advancing to the Copa America semifinals next week.
An early first half strike from Jacob Shaffelburg set the tone. The Nashville SC winger fired home from close-range just 14-minutes into the match – the only effort bagged between the two teams through the first hour.
In the 65th minute, however, Venezuela's all-time leading scorer Salomon Rondon launched a lobbed effort over the head of Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau from nearly 40-yards away from the net to level the contest.
Ending regulation at a 1-1 draw, the match went on to penalty kicks, where Canada's Ismael Kone scored the winning spot-kick in a 4-3 shootout victory.
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Canada superstar Tajon Buchanan suffered a serious lower-leg injury in training earlier this week, breaking his Tibia. He underwent successful surgery and was on the sideline in a wheelchair supporting Les Rouges Friday evening.
Getty ImagesTHE MVP
Jacob Shaffelburg:
The Nashville SC winger was absolutely electric all evening, proving to be a menace in both the final-third and tracking back defensively. Add his goal to the mix, and it's a proper Man of the Match performance.
He may have only logged 60 minutes, but it was a really impressive showing from the 24-year-old, who continues to look like key part of Les Rouges under Jesse Marsch.
Getty ImagesTHE BIG LOSER
Maxime Crepeau:
An absolute goalkeeping howler from the Portland Timbers goalkeeper in the second half. One has to question his judgement in the moment, as he was bafflingly far off of his goal-line.
Moments like that define matches, and for someone as experienced as Crepeau, he should know better in that situation. His naive moment allowed Venezuela back into the match, taking the game to penalties.
Redemption may have arrived in the shootout, where Crepeau made two saves, but it should never have gotten that far to begin with.