Copa America: Argentina vs USA 4-0 — Full highlights, final score and more

The difference in class was just too much as Argentina eased past the USMNT in the semifinals of Copa America Centenario.

All of the hope and anticipation swirling around the U.S. team headed into Tuesday’s showdown against the top-ranked team in the world took just three minutes to be dashed by a healthy dose of reality. Then it took just a little longer for Lionel Messi to shatter it.

A sublime free kick from Messi gave Argentina a 2-0 lead in the 32nd minute after Ezequiel Lavezzi opened the scoring on a header less than three minutes in. Argentina cruised from there, sending the American Outlaws on hand at NRG Stadium in Houston home to mull a 4-0 defeat. Gonzalo Higuain found the net twice in the second half to provide the final margin of victory.

It was always going to be a difficult task for the USMNT to pull off the upset even with a full strength roster, but missing Bobby Wood, Jermaine Jones and Alejandro Bedoya turned it into a nightmare. Chris Wondolowski, especially, failed to cover himself in glory, adding nothing to the attack and hauling down Messi to set up a goal that is bound to be replayed on every sports outlet for the foreseeable future.

The U.S. passing and possession were also sloppy at various times, and Jurgen Klinsmann will be left to reflect on how his squad didn’t play it’s ‘A’ game, or anything resembling it, in the biggest non-World Cup match in years. For Argentina, it’s chief concern headed to the Copa America is health, with Lavezzi taking a scary spill over the advertising boards in the second half.

Three stars

1. Lionel Messi – When Messi bent down to tie his show before lining up that free kick, the feeling of dread was palpable. It was almost like you could feel magic coming, and he did not disappoint — except in the general sense of squashing any U.S. joy.

2. Ezequiel Lavezzi – Froze USMNT keeper Brad Guzan like a statue on the opening goal after Messi picked him out in the box. Hopefully he’s okay after possibly injuring his elbow in his nasty fall.

3. Christian Pulisic – Not necessarily for what he did, but for the potential the 17-year old represents. Pulsiic didn’t look overcome by the big stage at all when he came on after halftime, creating some decent chances and looking lively overall.

Highlights

A nightmare start? This was the very definition of it for the U.S.

Already down 1-0 and flustered by the Argentina pressure, the last thing the U.S. could afford to do was give the ball away and then pull Messi down. So naturally, that’s exactly what Wondolowski did. Then this happened:

Thanks to Mexico, the specter of getting blown out in the second half was lurking in the back of some fans’ minds. It didn’t help when Higuain, who came close before, finally put one home.

One doesn’t really think of the advertising boards around a soccer field as serious hazards, but they can be if you aren’t sure where they are. Early reports on Lavezzi was that he may have injured his elbow, but as this video shows, it could have been much worse.

Three takeaways

1. It’s fair to say that after Klinsmann earned some props for getting the U.S. to the semifinals of Copa America, he’ll be in for some criticism for his lineup choices for the Argentina match. It’s unlikely anything he did would have changed the result, but Wondolowski for Wood turned out to be the worst possible trade-off.
2. Could there have been a moral victory for USA if the match had been close? Possibly, but that’s out the window now. The good work put in to get to the semis has been eclipsed by the same frustrating sense of how far the country has to go to hang with the world’s soccer powers.
3. Messi is what we thought he was: the best player in the world. ‘Nuff said.

Final Thought

Belief is not enough. The USMNT had to play its best game and hope that Argentina was slightly off to have a shot at a historic upset, and that was not the case. Klinsmann’s squad still has the third-place match left to play, and while not much will be on the line, it will be interesting to see if the team bounced back mentally from a thorough shellacking.

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