Lionel Messi Feels ‘Pain-Free,’ Prepared To Play For Argentina In Copa America Quarterfinals

Argentine forward Lionel Messi played 45 minutes of his team’s 3-0 victory over Bolivia in the group stage finale of the Copa America Centenario on Tuesday night.

Lionel Messi Feels ‘Pain-Free,’ Prepared To Play For Argentina

Before he even came on to start the second half, however, the crowd of 45,753 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle spontaneously chanted “Mess-i, Mess-i!” several times in the first half.

Messi, who is recovering from a back injury, missed Argentina’s opener against Chile. The Barcelona striker, who will turn 29 on June 24, was unable to score on Tuesday, but demonstrated his trademark skill on the ball, looking like a player who could have played all 90 minutes if he hadn’t been injured.

“I felt good. I felt good,” Messi said on Tuesday. “No pain, right now I don’t feel anything. I felt good from a fitness standpoint too, so it was good appearance.”

The game was a more-than-comfortable win for Argentina, as Erik Lamela and Ezequiel Lavezzi scored goals two minutes apart in the first 15 minutes. In the 13th minute, Lamela’s 25-yard free kick deflected off the back of Yasmani Duk, who had leaped and turned in the defensive wall. The shot completely stunned goalkeeper Carlos Lampe. The kick came after Lavezzi maneuvered past three defenders and got taken down.

Two minutes later, Facundo Roncaglia crossed from the right side. Lampe saved Gonzalo Higuain’s header but Lavezzi took the rebound and easily kicked the ball in to give Argentina a 2-0 lead.

Then in the 32nd minute, Lavezzi collected a deflection on the right side of the penalty box and crossed into the area, where defenseman Victor Cuesta netted the ball to record his first international goal.

Messi replaced Higuain after the break, although Argentina’s victory appeared to be nearly secured by then.

“People pay all over the world to see him. He has to deal with that,” Argentina coach Gerardo Martino said of Messi through an interpreter. “Sometimes he has to play, sometimes he is on the bench. He has that obligation to fulfill for the fans who are paying to be there for him. He lives with that.”

Apart from Messi’s omission from the starting lineup, Angel Di Maria was ruled out with an adductor (thigh) injury. Even if he had been healthy, Di Maria still probably would not have played because he was carrying a yellow card. A second warning would have resulted in suspension from the quarterfinal. Javier Mascherano, Augusto Fernandez, Marcos Rojo and Nicolas Gaitan were all held out for the same reason.

The Bolivians, who had been eliminated after their first two games, struggled against South America’s powerhouse. Argentina dominated overall possession percentage 82-18, and completed 757 passes at a 94 percent success rate. Bolivia put together 61 passes.

Aside from the lopsided control, Martino liked what his team did with the ball.

“The ball circulated faster,” he said. “We were patient, but with this patience, we were not slow. The ball was moving all over the place and we were playing with 11 players. I can see this team is making progress.”

Messi is expected to return to the starting lineup when Argentina faces Venezuela in the quarterfinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Saturday.

“Every time we get better, and as I said the other day, we’ll get better the further we advance,” Messi said. “Now we face a complicated rival, that is there deservingly, that went through a very tough group and almost finished first.

Chile is other member of Argentina’s Group D to advance to the quarterfinals, after defeating Panama 4-2 on Tuesday night. Chile will next face Mexico at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday night.

PHOTO: SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 14: Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina dribbles against Bolivia during the 2016 Copa America Centenario Group D match at CenturyLink Field on June 14, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)