The Barcelona superstar stole the show yet again, leading La Albiceleste's dismantling of the U.S. to
book his country's third straight major final.The No. 10 is playing at the top of his game right now
and no team has been able to get near him so far at this year's Copa america edition
The Barcelona forward has been at the heart of everything his country have done during his
relatively limited time on the pitch so far this summer. That stunning hat trick in Chicago – scored
inside 19 minutes - the fine assist and his record-equaling goal against Venezuela in Foxborough on
Saturday. Here, at NRG Stadium, he has put Argentina in its third major final in three years
following a 4-0 win over the U.S. national team on Tuesday.
His assist for Ezequiel Lavezzi was excellent in its own right, but – if it’s a competition – was
perhaps not quite as good as the one he laid on for Gonzalo Higuain in the last round. But his
free kick, which made it 2-0 and essentially ended the game after 32 minutes. Higuain made it 3
shortly after halftime to really hammer home the dominance. And Messi, bearing down on goal with
four minutes to go, could have added to his tally, but elected to square it to Higuain for a tap-in.
Argentina has rolled through this Copa America in dominating fashion, and Messi credits the team's
experience in last year's Copa America in Chile — which concluded with a heartbreaking penalty
shootout loss to Chile in the final — with helping the team grow.
"You learn from everything," Messi said. "It’s been almost a year since the last Copa America, and
think that made us stronger as a group, and as a team. We grew a lot, in a lot of ways, and above all,
even though we didn’t win, it helped us.”
The Americans had few answers for Messi or Argentina, which opened the scoring just three minutes
in when Messi set up an Ezequiel Lavezzi opener with a sublime chip pass. The Americans were on
their heels for most of the night after that terrible start, as Argentina continued to control throughout.
“The way the game went, with the fast early goal, and the early second goal as well, we found the
path to have more of the ball and circulate it," Messi said. "I think we played a complete game."
Complete is the only way to describe a match that saw Argentina limit the U.S. to zero shots, while
holding a 67-33 edge in possession percentage and completing a jaw-dropping 93 percent of its 625
passes.
The moment of the night had to be Messi's, with his 30-yard free kick goal that helped him surpass
Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's all-time leading goal scorer.
Argentina is hoping to achieve the glory that has eluded it in recent years. After losing to Germany in
extra time of the 2014 World Cup and to Chile in penalty kicks in last year's Copa America final,
Argentina is poised to lift the country's first major title since the 1993 Copa America.
Argentina will be considered the favorite, regardless of which semifinalist emerges from
Wednesday's Copa America semifinal between Chile and Colombia.
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