Argentina, the world champion, needed penalty kicks to reach the semifinals of the Copa America football tournament, winning against Ecuador 4-2 after a 1-1 draw on Thursday in Houston, Texas. The defending champions opened the scoring with a header from defender Lisandro Martinez (35), before Ecuador's defender Kevin Rodriguez equalized with a header in stoppage time (90+1). Superstar Lionel Messi missed the first penalty, but was saved by his goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who saved two penalties.
Argentina, a record 15-time champion, will meet the winner between Venezuela and Canada on Tuesday in the semifinals in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Messi, an eight-time World Player of the Year, started despite doubts surrounding his participation due to pain in his right adductor muscle. Coach Lionel Scaloni included top scorer Lautaro Martinez (4 goals) alongside Messi in the starting lineup, before he was substituted in the 65th minute for young Julian Alvarez.
Argentina, the 2022 World Cup champion in Qatar and one of the favorites to win the title this year, topped its group in the first round after victories over Canada (2-0), Chile (1-0), and Peru (2-0) with a reserve squad. The team has never lost to Ecuador since 2015 in World Cup qualifying and has never lost to them in the history of Copa America matchups.
On the other hand, Ecuador's fourth-place finish is the best it has ever achieved in its Copa America history, in 1959 and 1993. After losing their opening match against Venezuela (1-2), Ecuador qualified by defeating Jamaica (3-1) and drawing 0-0 with Mexico.
In the other quarterfinal matches, Brazil, having failed to top its group, will face the 15-time champion Uruguay in an anticipated match on Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, while Colombia will take on Panama in Glendale, Arizona.
