Copa America: Argentina defeats Ecuador 3-0 to advance to the semi-finals

Argentina advanced to the Copa America 2021 semi-finals by defeating Ecuador 3-0 in the quarter-finals on Sunday, with goals from Rodrigo De Paul, Lautaro Martinez, and Lionel Messi sealing the victory. De Paul scored in the final minutes of the first half to take a 1-0 lead, which Martinez doubled in the 84th minute. Messi added to Argentina’s difficulties by scoring in extra time with Argentina already leading.

Messi stated, “I’ve always believed that individual prizes are secondary; we’re here for something else. We have a goal in mind, and we’re working toward it. We know how difficult an opponent they can be, so it was a tough encounter. The essential thing is that we’ve made progress.”

All eyes were on Messi in the build-up to the game, as he needed two goals to tie Pele’s record for most international goals by a South American player, and his 76th goal for Argentina now puts him one goal short. Argentina, who had gone undefeated in their previous 17 matches, could have won by a considerably larger margin.

Within the first 20 minutes of the game, Martinez and German Pezzella came perilously close to scoring, but Hernan Galindez made an outstanding stop to keep Argentina from taking an early lead. Messi had a clear chance to score, but his effort struck the crossbar.

De Paul scored his first goal in 25 appearances five minutes before halftime when he took advantage of a stranded goalie who had made a tackle. Martinez shaped up the second goal five minutes before stoppage time, which Messi set up.

As the game drew to a close, Messi hit the target with a free-kick to further inflict misery on the opposition. To make matters worse for Ecuador, Piero Hincapie was sent off for tackling Angel Di Maria.