Argentina’s Lionel Messi and his team-mates gave their fans something to cheer about when they thumped Venezuela 4-1 in the quarter-finals of the Copa America in Massachusetts on…
ADVERTISEMENTArgentina’s Lionel Messi and his team-mates gave their fans something to cheer about when they thumped Venezuela 4-1 in the quarter-finals of the Copa America in Massachusetts on Saturday.
Napoli’s prolific goalscorer Gonzalo Higuain broke the deadlock in the 8th minute before adding a second 20 minutes later, picking up a dreadful back-pass by Arquimedes Figuera.
Venezuela midfielder Luis Seijas missed a penalty just before the break, leaving Rafael Dudamel’s men with a mountain to climb in the second-half.
Lionel Messi looked in great shape and lived up to expectations as he scored his 54th goal in international play, tying the national record set by Gabriel Batistuta.
Venezuela then pushed and scored courtesy of Salomon Rondon but it was too little too late as Erik Lamela secured the win with 20 minutes to go before the final whistle.
Argentina will next lock horns with the United States for a place in the showpiece match.
Messi's updated stats with
Argentina</a> after the Venezuela win <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CA2016?src=hash">#CA2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ohen1wKfJw">pic.twitter.com/Ohen1wKfJw</a></p>— MESSISTATS (MessiStats) June 19, 2016