Copa America 2021: Lionel Messi stars as Argentina thrash Ecuador to enter semis

Rodrigo De Daul, Lautaro Martinez, and Lionel Messi got among the goal-scoring charts as Argentina progressed to the semifinals of the ongoing Copa America here at the Estadio Olimpico Pedro Ludovico on Sunday.

Messi scored a goal and assisted the other two as Argentina defeated Ecuador 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Copa America and the side will now lock horns against Colombia in the semifinals on Wednesday.

2 assists and goall!! A great free kick by Messi #Messi #Argentina #CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/GOgzqB19ne — Enock Woodman (@WoodmanEnock) July 4, 2021

The first goal of the match came in the 40th minute as De Paul netted the ball into the goalpost, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead.

Goalie caught out, Lionel Messi with the sweet pass, and Rodrigo De Paul scores his first goal for #Argentina pic.twitter.com/saomvG2Sx5

— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) July 4, 2021

The next two goals came in the second half. First, Martinez scored in the 84th minute, and in the dying minutes of the game, Messi registered a goal to hand Argentina a 3-0 win.

Another pass from #Messi! On the 10th he released Lautaro Martínez for the 2-0 @Argentina#Argentina #LeoMessi #LionelMessi #Messi34 #CristianoRonaldo #ARGBOL #ArgentinaEcuador #Ronaldo #CopaAmerica2021 #CopaAmerica #ARGECU #Argentinavsecuador pic.twitter.com/D2VGE44CV9 — Leo Messi (@xlionelmessix) July 4, 2021

In the entire match, Argentina had eight shots on target while Ecuador just had two.

On Saturday, Colombia defeated Uruguay 4-2 on penalties to qualify for the semifinals.

The normal 90-minute action between both these sides finished at 0-0 and as a result, the match had to go down to penalties to decide the winner.