Lionel Messi was in sublime form for Argentina as he grabbed a goal and two assists in Argentina’s 4-0 thrashing of hosts USA. This result means Argentina are now through to the Copa America Centenario final, where they will be facing either Colombia or Chile.
Big occasions demand big match players and Lionel Messi did not disappoint. Argentina started the game brightly and it took less than 3 minutes for the Albiceleste to score their opening goal. Predictably, it was Lionel Messi who was heavily involved. A short corner taken quickly by Lavezzi saw Messi free at the edge of the box and his brilliant lobbed pass found Lavezzi again who looped his header above Guzan to give Argentina the lead.
The second goal was a Messi free-kick special as he curled it in beautifully giving Brad Guzan no chance. This goal was especially significant for Lionel Messi as it made him Argentina’s record goal scorer as he went one ahead of Gabriel Batistuta.
Argentina absolutely dominated the game and the second half was not too different from the first half.
Gonzalo Higuain scored almost immediately in the second half to make it 3-0 for Argentina. Higuain’s initial shot was saved brilliantly by Brad Guzan, but the save fell kindly to Higuain who rounded the goalkeeper and finished into an empty net. USA tried to change a few things in the second half and grab a consolation goal, instead, Argentina grabbed a late fourth goal thanks to some excellent work by Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain.
Messi unselfishly set up Higuain for the fourth goal as Argentina rounded off an impressive performance. Messi and co look determined to put previous year’s heartbreak to rest and they definitely look like a team on a mission in this edition of the Copa America.
