Lionel Messi Puts Argentina in Copa America Semis as They Try to End Drought
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Copa America Centenario has been filled with highs and lows, but one of its biggest selling points is that it boasts the world's best player in Lionel Messi.
The European Championship is underway right now in France, but the current Ballon d’Or holder is across the Atlantic, in the United States, and inspired his team to a 4-1 quarter-final victory over Venezuela as they bid to end a 23-year major trophy drought.
Until Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, he hadn't started a game but had already scored three goals. He bagged a 19-minute hat-trick against Panama in a substitute appearance before entertaining a Seattle crowd in another cameo against Bolivia.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Finally fit after suffering a back injury against Honduras in a friendly at the start of the tournament—a curious team to pick to play before an event like this, considering their physicality—Messi was ready to go from the off against Venezuela. And that he did.
After just eight minutes, he made a crucial impact. Playing on the right, in the position he occupies for Barcelona, Messi curled a perfectly weighted, flighted and positioned ball over two Venezuela midfielders and into the path of Gonzalo Higuain.
The Napoli striker was ghosting in between the centre-backs and finished superbly, but the strike was only possible because of an almost impossible through ball by Messi.
The Foxborough crowd of almost 60,000 liked what they saw. Many had bought tickets for this game because they wanted to see Messi in the flesh. Some fans anticipated Argentina would make it to this game by winning Group D, others purchased tickets following their success in group stage.
One source told Bleacher Report that several thousand tickets had been sold after it was confirmed Argentina would be visiting the Boston-area venue.
At Argentina’s other games so far, the constant Messi chants have been a little irritating. Most knew he would not be coming on against Chile, but they called for him still. In the other games, it has sometimes seemed more about Messi than Argentina.
In a way, it is, because of the sheer numbers here for him. On the back of every other Argentina shirt in the crowd seemed to be the No. 10 with his name above it. There were plenty of Barcelona jerseys in the crowd too.
This time they were justified, a salute to the finest exponent the beautiful game could wish for. A large group of Argentina fans gathered in one concourse after the game, waving a giant flag and yelling Messi’s name repeatedly.
Messi scored the third Argentina goal himself, after Higuain netted a second time following a dreadful pass-back, playing a one-two with Nicolas Gaitan and finishing with ease.
He created the fourth goal too, teeing up Erik Lamela to fire home as Argentina knocked out a spirited Venezuela side in the quarter-finals.
Messi's was his 54th strike in an Albiceleste shirt, and it saw him level all-time great Gabriel Batistuta’s record as his country’s top goalscorer.
“It’s important for what it means to be the top scorer, because it’s Batigol's [record], but what makes me happier is the team, the result, because we made it to the semi-finals,” he said after the game, in typically humble fashion.
His coach Gerardo Martino is hoping that Messi takes over from Batistuta as the outright top scorer at this tournament.
“He has already matched the record, but I'd like to see Messi surpass it at this Copa America,” explained Tata at his post-match press conference.
“We are very happy with how he has recovered, this recovery has re-energised the team and we are very happy because of that. We are happy to have him in shape for the semi-finals.”
Messi should also have had a penalty in the first half, when Arquimedes Figuera took him down in the penalty area, but he was not given a spot-kick.
"The only thing that left me a bit unhappy was the penalty that they didn’t give," added Martino.
"Messi knows that these things happen, he knows he’s a game-changer and he knows that everybody is going to try to cancel him out.”
It would have been easy for the No. 10 to turn up to this tournament and not be in the mood to star.
That injury, his appearances in court as part of a tax case against him and his father, and Barcelona’s Champions League elimination in the quarter-finals all put a slight damper on an otherwise strong season.
Messi is still looking for his first major international trophy with Argentina, and this tournament is his best chance to achieve that.
The forward is often compared to historic greats like Diego Maradona and Pele, but many rank him on a lower tier than such stars because he has not tasted national glory.
While that is not necessarily a good argument, it is one that's frequently leaned on, so lifting the Copa America Centenario would go some way to quieting that criticism.
Messi’s return means Argentina will be firm favourites going into the semi-finals, and Martino will already be plotting how to get his team past the U.S. in their last-four clash in Houston on Tuesday night.
His country’s talisman will be a massive problem for Jurgen Klinsmann and his team, with the Argentinian star liable to settle the semi-final clash in a matter of seconds.
Martino praised his team for reaching the final four, just like they did in the previous Copa America and World Cup campaigns, finishing second both times.
"Fundamentally, I feel proud because I am in charge of this team, and these players in the last three years have played three of the most important tournaments. And now we can say regardless of what happens now, they will have played 19 games [across the Copa Centenario, Copa 2015 and World Cup 2014]," said Martino.
"In most of those, they played really well. But unfortunately, they did not do well in two of those," he added, referring to the World Cup and Copa America finals.
There are no teams left in the tournament that Argentina will fear—even though Chile beat them in 2015’s final—because they saw off La Roja both in World Cup qualifying and in the group stage of the Copa America.
Furthermore, a team including Messi creates fear itself, with opposition players scrambling to remember how they should try and cope with a forward like that.
On a couple of occasions against Venezuela, players were drawn to Messi, who then switched the play to where the space was. The Vintotinto midfield was unable to get particularly close to him, and the defenders sucked into different positions.
With two goals and one assist, he ran the show at Gillette Stadium, even though the stadium announcer erroneously awarded the man of the match prize to Higuain, before retracting it shortly afterwards.
If Messi keeps playing like this, he'll deserve the same accolade but for the tournament as a whole. And yet, what he did against Venezuela was so routine, so standard for a man of his impressive quality. He will dazzle again in the U.S., and brighter still.
Quotes and information taken firsthand unless specified.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
