Martino confident Messi will shake off America’s defence

Argentina head coach Gerardo Martino is confident star striker Lionel Messi will shake off the United State’s defence in their Copa America Centenario semi-final on Wednesday.

The Barcelona forward had Argentina’s third goal in their 4-1 quarter-final victory over Venezuela – equaling Gabriel Batistuta’s all-time scoring record – and netted a hat-trick against Panama to help his side finish top of Group D.

“He has already faced several different methods of stopping him. Bolivia individually marked Messi when he came on in the second half; others used team marking based on one player being very close to him and a lot of players behind to help them.

“He was able to pass his markers, as he did in the last game with his goal. I think it’s very common and logical that the managers and the players try and stop what’s in front of them, as long as the challenges are legal,” he said.

Martino has kept a close on on their upcoming opponents – hosts the USA – and admitted he hopes they don’t play as well as they did in their semi-final first half against Ecuador.

“I am more concerned about the way the United States played in the first half against Ecuador. We will try to play as Ecuador did in the second half against them.”