Lionel Messi scores one, assists two as Argentina thrash Venezuela 4-1 in Copa America quarter-final

Foxborough: The ball was along the sidelines, in a harmless position, actually closer to the midfield than the goal. But Lionel Messi was on it. It took the Argentine genius just one pass and the ball was in the back of the net. Argentina was on their way to a Copa America semi-final against hosts USA following a comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of Venezuela. “He knows that he’s a game-changing player,” said Argentina coach Geraldo Martino on Saturday night, after Messi scored one  goal and added two assists. “Everybody’s trying to cancel him. But he knows when to play one against one. He knows when to pass the ball to other players. There may be times when he lets some other player take advantage of this.” [caption id=“attachment_2843232” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain celebrate a goal against Venezuela in the Copa America. AP[/caption] Messi’s goal in the 60th minute gave Argentina a 3-0 lead and was his 54th in international play, tying the national record set by Gabriel Batistuta, according to Argentina’s governing body. The Barcelona star also took over the Copa America scoring lead with his fourth goal of the tournament despite making just his first start. Argentina now have two days’ rest before playing the US in Houston on Tuesday. The Americans have been off since beating Ecuador on Thursday. Martino, however, said it didn’t matter his opponents had more rest than them. “I don’t think we’re too worried about that. We’re very focused on our goal. This is not a big deal, the rest time,” he said. With many in the Gillette Stadium wearing No 10 from Messi’s national team and La Liga jerseys, the five-time FIFA Player of the Year started the game after playing just 74 minutes in the three group stage matches. But it took him just eight minutes to make an impact, connecting with Gonzalo Higuain on a long entry pass to make it 1-0. Eight days after recording a hat trick in just 29 minutes against Panama, Messi gathered the ball at the sideline and lofted a long pass to Higuain, who split two defenders, took the ball on a short hop and booted it in. “We tried to force them to play long balls,” Venezuela coach Rafael Dudamel said. “But they have that stroke of genius that changes all your schemes. They had an incredible pass from Messi, and they scored. When you lose so early in the game, it’s almost like a knockout.” Higuain scored again in the 28th to make it 2-0, picking up an errant back pass by Venezuelan midfielder Arquimedes Figuera and sidestepping goalkeeper Dani Hernandez before left-footing it into the net. In the 42nd minute, Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero took out Josef Martinez’s legs with a headfirst dive. But off the resulting penalty kick, Luis Seijas tried to scoop it straight up the middle and Romero took a small stutter step to his left before catching it. Messi made it 3-0 when he took a pass from Nicolas Gaitan just outside the six-yard box. Venezuela finally beat Romero in the 70th minute when Salomon Rondon headed the ball in, nicking the post on the way. But Messi assisted again a minute later, this time Erik Lamela the beneficiary and it was 4-1. Argentina have a 6-2-2 record against the US, and the last encounter between the two was a friendly in 2011 that ended in a 1-1 draw. The last American win was in a 1999 exhibition match in Washington DC. Recovering from a back injury, Messi sat out of the group stage opener against Chile and played just 29 minutes against Panama — but still managed to record a hat trick. He came on as a second-half substitute in the final group match against Bolivia on Tuesday. But on Saturday, Messi played the entire game, though there was a scare when he was taken down from behind in the penalty box in the first half and was slow to get up. “We’re very happy with the way that he has been evolved, the way that he recovered from his injury,” Martino said. “His reinsertion into the team, we really value that, and we’re happy to have him in good shape now that we’re facing the semifinals.” Martino said he was pleased to see Messi tie the national record, but he would wait to comment on it until the record was broken. “I would like that to happen in the Copa America,” he said. “I tied it, still haven’t broken it,” Messi said. “But I’m happy to be next to Bati, with all that means.” Batistuta also scored twice in an exhibition against Slovakia in 1995 that is included in FIFA’s records but not the national federation’s; if it did, he would have 56 goals. For Venezuela, which finished fourth in the 2011 Copa America, it was a reminder of how far La Vinotinto have to go. “It’s not what we were hoping for, nor what we would imagine,” Dudamel said. “We found ourselves watching a very strong team, ranked No 1, and they have been very unforgiving with our mistakes. When you play an adversary like this, any mistake you make they do not forgive. They just kill you.”