A place in the last four of the Copa America for Argentina. The Albiceleste largely dominated Ecuador, Saturday, July 3, in the quarterfinals of the continental competition (3-0). They will face Colombia for a place in the final.
Lionel Messi first served Rodrigo De Paul (40) and Lautaro Martínez (84) for the first two goals at the Olympic Stadium in Goiania, Brazil, before ending the match in style with an unstoppable free kick in added time ( 90 + 3).
Coached by the Argentinian Gustavo Alfaro, Ecuador put up little resistance against irresistible Albiceleste. Ecuadorian central defender Piero Hincapie saw the red card just before the end of the match (90 + 2).
Hold me tight that we are more united than ever
Semifinalists pic.twitter.com/BkLfVw59Qt
– Argentina National Team (@Argentina) July 4, 2021
“It was one of our goals to be in the top four. We knew we were going to have a very difficult opponent.” in the semi-finals, said Lionel Messi.
At 34, the star striker from Argentina, record holder for selections with Argentina, now sees more closely the possibility of revenge for three lost Copa America finals (2007, 2015 2016) and break a period of 28 years without titles for his team.
Messi, however, pointed out that Colombia was “a very tough team, with very good players, with experience, with very fast players who defend well”. “I hope we can be in the final”, said the Argentine captain.
With four goals scored since the start of the competition Messi stands out at the top of the ranking of top scorers followed by a bunch of players with two goals each, including Neymar.
The semi-final against Colombia will be played on Tuesday July 6 at the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasilia, the Colombians having qualified by beating Uruguay on penalties 4-2 (0-0) earlier in the day.
–
