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.
Argentina joined Colombia to the semi-finals of the Copa America and the side will now lock horns against Colombia in the semifinals on Wednesday. The encounter hosted at the “Olympico Pedro Ludovgo Teixeira” stadium in Brazil.
Messi missed a golden chance in the first half but set up Rodrigo De Paul five minutes before half-time and then did the same for Lautaro Martinez five minutes from the end to give Argentina a deserved victory.
Despite the deliberate roughness shown by the Ecuadorian defense, the tango came in the fortieth minute, specifically when Messi manipulated the Ecuadorean defenses and passed the ball to his colleague, "Rodrigo de Paul", who came with the Argentine goal in the first half. 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.
The second half was fast-paced on both sides, with a relative advantage for Argentina, whose players began to weave in the same vein in the first half.
 
Rodrigo de Paul opened the scoring at the Olimpico Stadium in Goiania in the 39th minute, tapping into an empty goal before Lautaro Martinez added the second in the 84th with a blast from close range. Messi, in his first match since his contract with Barcelona expired, assisted both of them.
In the dying moments of the match Messi scored Argentina’s third from a free kick from the edge of the box. It was his fourth goal in the tournament.
Ecuador also lost defender Piero Hincapié to a red card near the end of the match after a foul on Di Maria that gave Argentina the free kick scored by Messi.
The match was led by the Brazilian referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio. With this results, Argentina will face Colombia, while Brazil and Peru will meet once again in the semi-finals Copa America 2021.