Copa América: OM's Ismaël Koné Propels Canada to Semifinals

Canada will face Argentina for the second time this Copa América after the Canadians defeated Venezuela in a penalty kick shootout (4-3) to reach the semifinals of the competition. Did you miss any of the action? Here's a recap.

LOSC Lille's Jonathan David started for Canada while Toulouse FC's Cristian Cásseres Jr. was in the starting lineup for Venezuela. Jesse Marsch and his team opened the scoring courtesy of a goal from Nashville SC standout Jacob Shaffelburg in the 13th minute.

Both teams were quite active offensively in the first half. Venezuela managed ten shots, while Canada had seven, but it was the Canadians who went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Canada added nine more shots, and La Vinotinto had six.

Venezuela would level the scoring thanks to a goal from Club Pachuca's Salomón Rondón in the 64th minute. The veteran striker caught Portland Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau out of position for the goal from a long distance to tie the match 1-1.

Neither team was able to break the scoreless deadlock, so the contest went to a penalty kick shootout. Venezuela missed three shots in the six rounds, while Canada missed two, so in the sixth round, it was up to Olympique Marseille newcomer Ismaël Koné to score the game-clinching penalty kick.

Koné stepped into the box and converted his shot, and Canada won the penalty kick shootout 4-3. The Concacaf nation are now in the semifinals, where they'll face Argentina again on Tuesday as the two teams already faced one another in the group stage.

Argentina walked away with a 2-0 win on June 20th and now the Canadians will want revenge while punching their ticket to the Copa América final.

Photo credit: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Read More:

>> Copa América Quarter Finals Preview
>> Copa América: Lyon's Tagliafico features as Argentina beat Ecuador on penalties