Argentina top group after first-half blitz sinks Bolivia

Argentina booked a quarterfinal clash against Venezuela following a comfortable 3-0 win over Bolivia in the Copa America Centenario on Tuesday.

In Seattle, few were expecting anything other than an Argentine win over already-eliminated Bolivia and most of the attention was focused on whether Lionel Messi would surpass Gabriel Batistuta’s record of 54 goals for his country.

Needing one to tie the mark, Messi came on as a second-half substitute with his team already 3-0 up through Erik Lamela, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Victor Cuesta.

The closest Messi came to scoring was from a free kick in the 61st minute but his curled effort sailed just wide.

Lamela and Lavezzi scored within two minutes of each other, before Cuesta scored his first international goal in his first start just past the half-hour mark.

Messi was introduced at halftime but the goals dried up for Argentina in the second period, running out the three-goal win at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

With their spot in the quarterfinals already confirmed, Gerardo Martino elected to make six changes from the lineup that defeated Panama 5-0, but that did not mean it was a weakened team.

The likes of Sergio Aguero, Lavezzi and Lamela all came into the side, and it was the latter who got things going in the 13th minute.

Bolivia conceded a foul in a dangerous area and Lamela’s free kick took a heavy deflection off Yasmani Duk, beating Carlos Lampe for just his second international goal.

It took Argentina less than two minutes to double its lead, with Lavezzi converting a loose ball in the area after Gonzalo Higuain had his shot saved by Lampe.

Cuesta had been drafted into the team to give Javier Mascherano a rest, and the central defender scored his first goal for Argentina in the 32nd minute.

Lavezzi capitalized on a blocked shot and played in a low cross for Cuesta, and the Independiente man stretched to get the crucial touch.

Higuain almost made it 4-0 heading into halftime but he had his shot blocked, before Messi was introduced in place of the Napoli striker for the second period.