Argentina Thrash Venezuela 4-1 To Cruise Into Semifinal of Copa America As Messi, Higuain Score

Argentina are through to the semifinal of the Copa America Centenario taking place in the United States, after beating their South American counterpart Venezuela 4-1 to book a place in the final four stage. Lionel Messi scored a goal and made two assists in his first start at the Copa America Centenario, while  Gonzalo Higuain also scored twice as Argentina advanced to face the United States in a semifinal on Tuesday in Houston. The Barcelona forward scored his 54th goal for his country, while he trails Gabriel Batistuta with two goals whose national record of 56 goals still makes him Argentina's all-time highest goal scorer. Despite starting for the first time since the start of the Copa America due to injury, Lionel Messi still reminded his opponent that he still remained dangerous from the beginning as he practically dribbled into the 18-yard box of the Venezuela, and gave a shot that goalkeeper Daniel Hernandez stopped. Argentina mounted serious pressure on Venezuela and the effort paid-off, giving the Argentines four goals, while Venezuela earned a lifeline when Salomon Rondon flicked a header past Romero from a Alejandro Guerra cross on 70 minutes. But Argentina hit back less than a minute later as Messi fed substitute Erik Lamela, whose shot squirmed past Hernandez to cap the scoring. Argentina got to the semifinal after scoring 14 goals in the tournament, while Chile's 7 -0 win over Mexico remains a mystery.