Argentina has been the champion of South America 14 times, but the last one was in 1993. Is it time for the Gauchos to raise the cup again after 28 years and finally do something big with Lionel Messi? It seems so, but of course, others are in it too. First Colombia, which will meet Argentina in the semifinals of this year’s Copa America, and if they skip that obstacle, then it will be Brazil or Peru. In all matches in the tournament, the Argentines were the first to reach the goal, including in the quarterfinal clash with Ecuador. In the end, they scored three and celebrated 3:0, but this victory was all but easy.Ten-man Brazil edge Chile 1-0 to set Copa America semi-final with PeruIt could have been even more convincing, especially if Messi didn’t hit the post in the 23rd minute, with the result still 0:0. However, it could have been the other way around, if the former West Ham and Everton winger Ener Valencia, was more concentrated with his finishing. He threatened Emiliano Martinez four times, three times with his head and one with his leg but still failed to score. In addition to his misses, Argentina’s work was made easier by the Ecuador defenders, whose concentration dropped at the end of the match. Before that, however, Rodrigo De Paul found the net in the 40th minute. It was a quick attack by Argentina, goalkeeper Hernan Galindez ran out of his penalty area and stopped Lautar Martinez, but the ball bounced to Messi, who found the Udinese midfielder on the second post.Guinness Book of World Records holders offer Messi a decade-and-a-half dealAfter that, it took the Argentinians more than 40 minutes to score again. They were ’sweating’ on several occasions, from Valencia’s miss to the Gonzalez own goal (almost), or in the 80th minute, when Martinez brilliantly defended the shot from Plata. However, five minutes before the end, the poor reception of the 19-year-old stopper of Ecuador, Pierre Hinkapia, enabled Di Maria to get the ball, Messi to record the second assist in the match, and Lautaro Martinez to score the fourth in the tournament. That goal solved the question of the winner, and completely knocked out the young defender, who received a red card in added time, allowing Messi to score the third goal of the game from a free kick. Barca’s captain scored his fourth goal in the tournament and showed that he is extremely motivated to finally reach the end of a competition with the national team this year.
