Jacob Shaffelburg opened the scoring for Canada, only for Salomon Rondon to net a stunning long-range equaliser to take the quarter-final the distance.

With 32 shots shared between the two sides, penalties would decide which side would face Argentina at MetLife Stadium next week.

The decisive miss came from Wilker Angel, with Kone's stuttering run up allowing him to coolly slot the ball beyond Rafael Romo to see Canada become the fourth CONCACAF team in history to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

Despite the nerves of playing in its first knockout fixture at the Copa America, it was Canada that would strike the early blow in the contest.

Having seen appeals for a penalty waved away moments earlier, Shaffelburg dusted himself down to open the scoring, squeezing home Jonathan David's cross at the near post in the 13th minute.

Jesse Marsch's side had opportunities to double its advantage, as Shaffelburg saw his effort saved, while David fluffed his lines with only Romo to beat as a pulsating first half came to a close.

Canada's dominance continued after the break but Cyle Larin was unable to hit the target, and that wastefulness in front of goal was punished spectacularly.

A long ball up front saw Rondon win a tussle with Moise Bombito, taking aim from just inside the Canada half to lob Maxime Crepeau for a goal of the tournament contender.

David continued to threaten for Canada, chipping the ball in behind for Tani Oluwaseyi, who could only find the roof of the net in the final chance of normal time.

Both sides would miss two spot-kicks as the encounter reached sudden death, but Angel saw his effort saved by Crepeau, handing the responsibility over to Kone, who clinched a landmark victory for Marsch's side.

Fernando Batista can count his team unlucky after its gut-wrenching exit from the tournament, but his young squad can take pride in its performances at the tournament.

Venezuela battled an onslaught of Canada pressure, but fought back with its own attacking talents, with Rondon's strike its fourth consecutive goal at the Copa America, its longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of five games in June 2015.

However, hopes of reaching a first Copa America semi-final since 2011 were dashed.

Nevertheless, Venezuela can leave the tournament with heads held high, having equalled its highest goal tally (seven) in a single edition of the competition.

Marsch said he wanted to build something special with Canada, and his side's run in the Copa America has shown it has the ability to do so ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Canada started brightly through Shaffelburg's early strike, with all three of his international strikes coming in knockout matches. However, it should have been more.

From its 16 shots on goal, only seven were on target, with 12 of Canada's efforts coming inside the box. Marsch's side underperformed its expected goals (xG) by 0.84, and had four total big chances compared to Venezuela's 0.

Despite those underlying statistics, Canada will be hopeful of keeping its fairytale run in the competition alive against Argentina, which it lost against in the group stage of the competition.