You don’t need us to tell you that Lionel Messi is pretty good at football, but he’s pretty good at football.
In the week of his 29th birthday, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner broke the all-time goalscoring record for his country, surpassing the great Gabriel Batistuta. But Messi being Messi, he didn’t just break the record with a simple tap in, he destroyed it with one of the most perfect free kicks we’ve ever seen.
Not only that, but the Barcelona forward’s strike helped send the Argentines to the final of the Copa America after they thrashed hosts USA 4-0, with Messi providing assists for both Ezequiel Lavezzi and Gonzalo Higuaín in the process.
But it was his deadball strike which stole the show, as Messi made a mockery of American keeper Brad Guzan with a top-corner strike and made Gareth Bale’s two set piece goals at Euro 2016 look like pure luck.
The US came into the game with high hopes, but they were completely torn apart by a near-perfect Argentinian side as the hosts failed to record a single shot – not even one off target. Argentina, meanwhile, will look to claim their first major title in 23 years when they face either Colombia or defending champions Chile in the final.
And if Messi is on the same kind of form he was on Tuesday night, it’s hard to see any outcome other than an Argentinian victory.
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