Copa America: Argentina roll past Bolivia 3-0

Erik Lamela and Ezequiel Lavezzi scored two minutes apart early in the first half, Victor Cuesta scored his first international goal later in the half and Argentina dominated Bolivia 3-0 on Tuesday night to win Group D of the Copa America.

Argentina star Lionel Messi subbed on at the beginning of the second half for his most extensive game action since Barcelona beat Sevilla 2-0 to win the Copa del Rey on May 22. In the time since, Messi suffered a back injury, testified in his tax fraud trial in Spain and scored a hat trick off the bench in a 5-0 win over Panama last week.

But the goals came from his teammates as Argentina the only team in the tournament to win all three group games clinched a matchup with Venezuela in the quarter-finals. Argentina is in search of its first major international championship since winning the Copa America in 1993.

Bolivia last beat Argentina in 2009, but that victory came at 12,000 feet at home in La Paz. At sea level in Seattle, the Bolivians stood no chance. The closest Messi came to finding the net was a free kick from 30 yards early in the second half that teased the far post but didn’t curl enough. Bolivia’s Diego Bejarano was Messi’s shadow, ignoring anyone else in white with the ball and focusing just on No. 10.

Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas both scored twice as Chile advanced to the quarter-finals with a 4-2 victory over Panama. The defending Copa America champions responded to the shock of falling behind to a shock Miguel Camargo after only five minutes with two goals by Vargas before Arsenal star Sanchez grabbed a third in the Group D game.

Sanchez added his second in the 89th minute to complete the scoring. The Chileans will almost certainly meet Group C winners Mexico in the quarter-finals on Saturday, barring a miraculous result in Tuesday’s other match between Argentina and Bolivia.

Tournament favorites Argentina would need to suffer a heavy defeat by four or more goals to avoid qualifying as winners of Group D.

Chile meanwhile will advance to the quarter-finals still searching for their best form after twice conceding against modest opponents who were thumped 5-0 by Argentina in their previous outing.