Copa America: Defending champions Argentina beats Ecuador on penalties to reach semifinals
Lionel Messi needed his Argentine teammates to bail him out, and the world champions delivered for their all-time captain to reach the semifinals of the completion for the fifth time in a row.
Messi missed his penalty kick in a shootout, but Argentina outlasted Ecuador 1-1 (4-2 in penalty kicks) in their Copa America quarterfinal match at the NRG Stadium in Houston to advance to the semifinal.
Messi walked up with the ball in his hand, lined up Argentina’s first kick to set the tone. And he missed it. His plan to chip it down the middle was ideal, but the ball hit the crossbar and went over the net.
But Messi’s miss didn’t discourage the Argentine national team, the defending Copa America 2021 and World Cup 2022 champions. They’ve been in much more adverse situations before, and they delivered for Messi.
Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Otamendi scored in the penalty round, while Argentina’s fierce and outlandishly celebrating goalkeeper Dibu Martinez kept Ecuador at bay with just two penalties scored by John Yeboah and Jordy Caicedo.
The Argentinians celebrated in song and dance, while Ecuador woefully accepted defeat after their thrilling comeback.
Ecuador’s Kevin Rodriguez connected with a header in the lower left corner in stoppage time to shock Argentina and tie the match at 1 in the 91st minute.
Before the crucial goal, it appeared Argentina would easily navigate its way to the semifinals.
Messi made his mark earlier in the match: His corner kick fueled a goal near the net by defender Lisandro Martínez in the 35th minute. Messi’s kick from the right side was short of the goal area, but Alexis Mac Allister used his head to send the ball backwards where Martinez was waiting to score.
Ecuador’s Enner Valencia missed a golden opportunity to tie the match, but his poor form led to his penalty kick ricocheting off the left post in the 62nd minute.
Messi missed a right boot in the second half, his only shot of the match. He remains scoreless during this Copa America, but has an assist in Argentina’s first match. He also became the Copa America record holder for most minutes played in the tournament during the match.
Messi played the entire match, returning from a right groin/adductor injury he suffered on June 25 in a 1-0 win against Chile, causing him to miss a 2-0 win over Peru last Saturday.
It was a feisty match between both sides, meeting again in the Copa America quarterfinal like they did in 2021, when Argentina won 3-0 in a close contest with two goals after the 84th minute.
Both teams had more fouls than shot attempts, and the shots on goal were even lower – two each for both sides but only one team prevailed.
Argentina will meet the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Venezuela and Canada at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
