Canada reached the semi-finals of the Copa America on Friday after a dramatic 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory over Venezuela, following a 1-1 draw in regular time. Jacob Shaffelburg put Canada ahead in the 13th minute, but Salomón Rondón equalized for Venezuela in the 64th minute. The win sets up a last-four clash for Canada with world champions Argentina.

The Canadians, under new coach Jesse Marsch who took over in mid-May, delivered an intense display of pressing in a frenetic match. Both teams missed twice in the shoot-out, leaving it tied at 3-3 after five penalties each and necessitating sudden death. Canadian goalkeeper Max Crepeau, who had previously made an error leading to Venezuela's equalizer, redeemed himself by saving Wilker Ángel's penalty.

Ismael Koné then stepped up to convert the decisive penalty, sparking celebrations among the Canadian players despite a crowd of 51,080 predominantly supporting Venezuela. This marks Canada's first appearance in the Copa America, and their impressive run continues after they previously faced Argentina in the group stage, losing 2-0 to the defending champions.