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MATCH SUMMARY: Argentina vs. Venezuela 4-1.
Argentina never looked under pressure in a comfortable victory against Venezuela to progress to a semifinal match up with the U.S.
Messi was at his best with two assists and goal that took him to 54 Argentina goals, level with Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's all time leader scorer.
Gonzalo Higuain scored the opener for Argentina after latching on to a brilliant long ball from Messi in the eighth minute. Higuain then doubled the lead in the 28th minute capitalizing on a brain fade in the Venezuelan defence which left him with a open goal and was able to finish calmly.
In the 42nd minute Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero brought down Josef Martínez and Venezuela was awarded a penalty kick. But Luis Manuel Seijas' attempted chip landed safely in Romero’s gloves.
In the 59th minute Messi made it 3-0, finishing off an Argentine attack that easily cut through the Venezuela defense.
Venezuela then pulled one back in the 69th minute from a Salomon Rondon header. But Eric Lamela responded to make it 4-1 seconds later after coming on as a substitute.
Argentina will now play competition hosts the U.S. on Tuesday June 21.
MATCH PREVIEW: Argentina vs. Venezuela
World Number one Argentina take on this year's surprise team Venezuela in the knock out quarterfinal of the Copa America in Foxborough, Massachusetts, starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Argentina is the only team that hasn't lost or tied a game in the Copa America tournament so far, and superstar captain Lionel Messi says that as his team moves forward “we're going to grow.”
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But Messi insists that Venezuela should be treated with respect. "If Venezuela have reached the quarterfinals it's on merit. No one gave them anything. They are not better than Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, obviously, but if Venezuela are there they deserve it."
Salomon Rondon from Venezuela said his team was not intimidated by Argentina. "We are convinced and we believe in our ability because we have prepared well, we have an incredible group and even though we are playing a difficult rival, we don't feel like we're below anyone," he said to ESPN.
Since missing Argentina’s first game against Chile, Messi has been at his usual world best, featuring a quickfire hat trick coming on as a substitute in the 5-0 win over Panama.
Argentina and Venezuela have played five times before in the Copa America, with Argentina winning every game.
The winner of tonight's game will face the U.S. on Tuesday June 21, for a spot in the competition final.
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