FOXBORO, Mass. — The quarterfinals of Copa America 2016 resume Saturday night at Gillette Stadium with an excellent matchup between Argentina and Venezuela.
The winner moves to the semifinals and will play the United States.
Lionel Messi, arguably the world’s best player, will make his first start of the tournament. The talented forward played in just 75 of a possible 270 minutes during the group stage, yet he still managed to lead all players with three goals.
Keep it right here for score updates, highlights and analysis from Argentina vs. Venezuela.
FINAL, 4-1 Argentina
Argentina advances to the semifinal and will play the United States.
90th minute, 4-1 Argentina: We’ll have two minutes of stoppage time.
85th minute, 4-1 Argentina: Another sub for Venezuela.
80th minute, 4-1 Argentina: A couple more subs.
77th minute, 4-1 Argentina: A great crowd in Foxboro tonight.
Also, another yellow card for Venezuela.
73rd minute, 4-1 Argentina: Sergio Aguero replaces Gonzalo Higuain, who scored the first two goals.
70th minute, 4-1 Argentina: It took less than a minute for Argentina to answer. Erik Lamela, who just came on a few minutes ago, scores inside the penalty box. The Venezuelan goalkeeper should’ve saved it, or at least made a better attempt.
69th minute, 3-1 Argentina: West Brom’s Salomon Rondon scores on a header to get one back for Venezuela.
67th minute, 3-0 Argentina: Tottenham’s Erik Lamela has entered the game.
63rd minute, 3-0 Argentina: Another yellow for Venezuela.
60th minute, 3-0 Argentina: Lionel Messi finishes a fantastic passing sequence with his fourth goal of the tournament.
55th minute, 2-0 Argentina: Argentina’s Gabriel Mercado nearly scores on a header off a cross into the penalty box.
Also, a substitution.
52nd minute, 2-0 Argentina: Lionel Messi skips past a Venezuelan defender along the sideline and Wilker Angel comes over and takes him out, getting a yellow card in the process.
46th minute, 2-0 Argentina: Play has resumed!
Halftime, 2-0 Argentina.
43rd minute, 2-0 Argentina: Venezuela’s penalty attempt by Luis Manuel Seijas was a soft lob shot right down the middle and at Romero, who was not fooled. A pretty horrible attempt to say the least.
43rd minute, 2-0 Argentina: Romero takes out a Venezuelan player and gives away a penalty. He’s lucky to escape a card, too.
40th minute, 2-0 Argentina: Rolf Feltscher’s shot takes a deflection and Romero punches the ball over the crossbar at the last second. Nearly a goal for Venezuela.
40th minute, 2-0 Argentina: Venezuela nearly scores off a corner kick but the header on goal hits the left post.
35th minute, 2-0 Argentina: Argentina goalkeeper Romero makes a great diving save to his right to save a goal.
28th minute, 2-0 Argentina: Gonzalo Higuain scores again, this time on a breakaway. He took a bad giveaway and moved past the goalkeeper, then finished into the open net.
Another interesting stat.
26th minute, 1-0 Argentina: Nicolas Gaitan picks up a yellow card and he’ll miss the semifinal (if Argentina advances). It’s great news for USA.
22nd minute, 1-0 Argentina: Lionel Messi got crushed from behind in the box and no penalty is called, to the shock of the crowd.
17th minute, 1-0 Argentina: A new record for Lionel Messi.
15th minute, 1-0 Argentina: Interesting stat.
8th minute, 1-0 Argentina: Gonzalo Higuain scores on a volley off an exquisite pass by Lionel Messi.
8th minute, 0-0: Lionel Messi’s skills are too much for one defender to handle and Venezuela’s Luis Seijas comes over and trips the Argentina star, earning a yellow card in the process.
4th minute, 0-0: Lionel Messi dangles another defender and curves a left-footed shot just wide of the right post from 18 yards away. So close to a goal.
3rd minute, 0-0: Lionel Messi dangles past three players in the penalty area and sends a cross to the far post, which is caught by the Venezuelan goalkeeper.
1st minute, 0-0: We’re underway!
6:53 p.m.: Argentina fans outside Gillette Stadium are having some fun at the expense of Brazil, whose club was knocked out in the group stage.
6:46 p.m.: Will the streak continue?
6:45 p.m.: Argentina scored the tournament’s most goals (10) during the group stage, and its plus-9 goal differential also led all teams.
6:35 p.m.: Starting lineups for both teams are listed below.
6:25 p.m. ET: Argentina and Venezuela have come onto the field for warmups. Messi receives a huge hand from the crowd as he leads Argentina out of the tunnel.
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
