Argentina v Ecuador Live Commentary & Result, 04/07/2021, Copa America

Thanks for joining our commentary this evening. Until next time, goodbye.

Argentina will face off against Colombia in their semi-final clash on July 6 in Brasilia. Ecuador are next in action in September in their World Cup qualifying clash against Paraguay.

Argentina advance to the semi-finals of the Copa America after being Ecuador 3-0 in their clash at the Olímpico Pedro Ludovico. Rodrigo de Paul opened the scoring in the first half with his first international goal. The Albiceleste had to be patient in the second half, but late efforts from Lautaro Martinez and Lionel Messi secured the win to send them into the last four. Ecuador battled hard, but lacked the quality before defender Piero Hincapie ended his tournament on a low note by receiving a red card.

90' + 6' FULL-TIME: ARGENTINA 3-0 ECUADOR

90' + 6' WIDE! Mena makes a run through the Argentina midfield and fires at goal, but he places his effort just wide of the right post.

S. Agüero

Lautaro Martínez

90' + 4' Aguero comes on for the closing seconds to replace Martinez.

L. Messi

Goal

90' + 3' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! MESSI MAKES IT THREE!!!!! 3-0 ARGENTINA!!!!! Messi fires home from a free-kick on the edge of the box. He curls his effort away from Galindez and into the top-right corner to score his fourth goal of the tournament. Argentina are on their way to the last four.

P. Hincapié

Red Card

90' + 2' Hincapie is sent off for denying Di Maria a goalscoring opportunity without an attempt to play the ball. The 19-year-old ends his tournament on a low note.

90' On review, the referee spots that the initial contact from Hincapie on Di Maria was outside the box. It will be a free-kick to Argentina, but it means bad news for Hincapie, who will likely be sent off rather than yellow-carded.

89' The referee awards a penalty to Argentina as Di Maria is pulled back by Hincapie. However, the official is instructed to head to the screen at the side of the field to review his decision.

87' Estupinan steers a low cross into the box from the left flank. Caicedo tries to pounce, but Rodriguez is on hand to bring the ball away from danger.

L. Messi

Assist

84' Messi latches on to the loose ball after Di Maria closes down Hincapie. He flicks a simple offload into the path of Martinez to collect and score.

Lautaro Martínez

Goal

84' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! MARTINEZ DOUBLES ARGENTINA'S LEAD!!!!! 2-0!!!! The Albiceleste are surely on their way to the last four now as Martinez hammers home a close-range strike. Hincapie loses possession on the edge of his own box as Di Maria closes down the defender. Messi pounces on the loose ball and releases Martinez in space in the penalty area. The forward takes a touch before drilling his attempt past Galindez into the back of the net.

L. Campana

Á. Preciado

83' Preciado is withdrawn for the closing stages and is replaced by Campana.

N. Tagliafico

N. González

83' Tagliafico replaces Gonzalez to shore up the left flank for the Albiceleste.

83' Emi Martinez appears to be okay to continue. A relief for Scaloni and his team.

82' A concern for Argentina as Emiliano Martinez pulls up after claiming a cross from Estupinan. Scaloni will not want to lose his keeper for the closing stages.

80' SAVE! Plata uses his pace to break away from Acuna down the right flank. He travels along the byline before hammering an effort low and hard towards the near post that Martinez has to block behind for a corner.

79' Argentina work the ball around the final third before Acuna finds Gonzalez in space. He launches an ambitious effort at goal that travels over the bar.

76' Argentina recycle possession and De Paul sends Di Maria down the right flank. He sends a low cross into the box that Martinez opts to leave for Messi, but three Ecuador players converge to crowd out the forward before he can shoot.

76' BLOCK! Messi goes for goal from 20 yards, but he smashes his strike straight into the Ecuador wall.

75' De Paul tries to break through the Ecuador backline, only to be brought down by a loose challenge from Caicedo. Argentina are awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position.

74' Messi drops his shoulder in another run at goal, but his strike from 20 yards is charged down by Arboleda.

74' CLOSE! De Paul feeds Messi on the edge of the box, who takes a touch before firing a curling strike towards the net. He connects well with his effort, but it sails just wide of the left post.

G. Rodríguez

L. Paredes

71' Rodriguez replaces Paredes in the middle of the park for Argentina.

Á. Di María

G. Lo Celso

71' Lo Celso is withdrawn from he action and is replaced by Di Maria in the final third.

M. Caicedo

A. Franco

70' Caicedo enters the action for Ecuador to replace Franco.

70' CHANCE! Mena swings a dangerous cross into the box for Valencia to attack, but the Ecuador skipper heads wide of the left post with his free header. That is his second glaring miss of the game.

68' There's trouble now in the Argentina box as Valencia goes down in a heap in the box. He makes the most of minimal contact from Acuna.

67' Valencia lines up a strike from a free-kick from 30 yards, but his effort strikes the top of the wall and travels over the bar.

N. González

Yellow Card

66' Gonzalez brings down Plata on the charge and goes into the book for his loose challenge.

65' Argentina have men forward on a break, but De Paul's offload back to Acuna sees the full-back shoot straight at Galindez.

64' CLOSE! Estupinan angles a dangerous cross into the Argentina box from the right flank. It deflects off the head of Gonzalez before travelling inches wide of the right post. Ecuador come so close to a leveller.

61' Tempers flare once again in the Ecuador box. Paredes is down on the deck, but there is minimal contact from Estupinan with a stray hand. It's not a good look for the Argentina midfielder.

60' Estupinan makes two fouls in quick succession. The Argentina players surround the referee and ask why he has not brandished a second yellow card in the direction of the left-back. The official remains calm and keeps his card in his pocket.

58' SAVE! Valencia latches on to an offload from Estupinan and hammers a strike from the left-inside channel towards the near post. Martinez has to react to steer the ball onto the post and wide of the target.

55' Estupinan sends a cross into the box for Arboleda to attack. He connects with a header, but it deflects off Lautaro Martinez and travels wide for another corner.

54' Molina has to be careful as he brings down Valencia on the byline after the ball travels out for a corner. The referee has a word with the full-back.

52' Argentina are finding space at the start of the second half, and Scaloni will be urging his side to capitalise on it to take the game away from Ecuador.

50' OVER! Messi makes a break into the final third, but gets crowded out and forced back to Gonzalez. The forward goes for a first-time strike, but scoops his effort well over the bar.

48' Preciado has to be careful as Gonzalez goes down under pressure from the Ecuador right-back, but the referee tells the Argentine to get to his feet.

47' Galindez has to react quickly off his line to beat Martinez to a ball over the top from Messi.

46' We're back under way in this quarter-final contest.

M. Estrada

C. Gruezo

46' Gruezo is withdrawn at the break and is replaced by Estrada in the final third.

G. Plata

D. Palacios

46' Plata enters the action to replace Palacios at the break for Ecuador.

Lionel Scaloni's men should have the game in hand, but are letting Ecuador hang around. The Albiceleste will be keen to kill off the contest as early as possible in the second half.

Argentina take a 1-0 lead into the break in their Copa America quarter-final clash against Ecuadro. Rodrigo de Paul's first goal for the Albiceleste has put them in front as he latched on to Lionel Messi's pass to fire into an empty net. Messi had previously hit the pot, while Nicolas Gonzalez failed to score from close range. However, at the other end, Enner Valencia missed a golden chance to equalise for La Tri. The game remains in the balance.

45' + 5' HALF-TIME: ARGENTINA 1-0 ECUADOR

N. Otamendi

Yellow Card

45' + 4' Otamendi goes into the book for dissent to the referee.

45' + 3' VALENCIA SHOULD LEVEL THE SCORES! Mena has space on the right flank and he lifts a great cross into the box. Valencia has a free header, but he sends a glancing header wide of the left post. The Ecuador skipper had to score there.

45' + 2' Messi wins another free-kick on the left flank, drawing a foul from Mendez. However, his cross from the set-piece is cleared at the back post by Valencia.

45' There will be four minutes of added time.

45' GONZALEZ SHOULD MAKE IT TWO! Messi clips the resulting free-kick into the box for Gonzalez to attack. He directs a header low towards the bottom-left corner, but Galindez makes a fine save to deny the forward. Gonzalez pounces on the rebound, but his close-range effort strikes the keeper again and bounces behind for a corner. He had to put the second effort away.

P. Estupiñán

Yellow Card

44' Estupinan sends Messi to the deck in the final third and goes into the book.

42' Scaloni's men have the lead now and can play the game on their terms. Ecuador are going to have to take the game to the Albiceleste.

L. Messi

Assist

40' Messi pounces on the loose ball after Galindez wipes out Gonzalez. Instead of shooting, he spots De Paul in acres of room at the back post. He finds hs team-mate with precision before De Paul does the rest.

R. De Paul

Goal

40' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! DE PAUL PUTS ARGENTINA IN FRONT!!! 1-0!!!!! De Paul is on the spot for the Albiceleste to hammer a strike into an empty net to hand them the lead. Messi opens up the Ecuador defence with a throughball for Gonzalez. He gets wiped out on the edge of the box by the onrushing Galindez. Messi pounces on the rebound and picks out De Paul in space at the back post. The midfielder takes a touch before hammering his strike into the net, notching his first international goal.

39' WIDE! Molina raids forward into space to latch on to Acuna's chipped pass. He tries to return the favour for his team-mate in the box, but the full-back slices his effort wide of the target.

38' CLOSE! Ecuador come within inches of taking the lead. Estupinan whips a dangerous cross into the box for Valencia to attack. He send a glancing effort towards goal that evades the outstretched leg of Mena and travels wide of the right post.

37' It has been a half filled with niggly fouls between the two sides. The game has not been allowed to flow, which is benefitting La Tri rather than Argentina.

35' Mena sends his cross from the resulting free-kick straight into the side-netting. That was a poor effort from that position.

34' Valencia draws contact from Acuna and wins a free-kick for La Tri in a decent position on the right flank.

33' Gonzalez wheels away from Preciado down the left flank, but catches him with an outstretched arm. The Ecuador man makes the most of the contact to win a free-kick.

32' Messi clips the resulting free-kick into the box, but Valencia is on the spot for his team to head clear of danger.

A. Franco

Yellow Card

31' Franco is the man punished for a poor challenge on Lo Celso.

29' Franco and Mendez bring down Lo Celso and then collide with one another on the ground. Both Ecuador players require treatment, but one will be punished after the fact.

27' De Paul takes possession on the right flank and whips a cross towards Martinez in the middle. Arboleda is well placed in the box and beats out the forward to head clear for La Tri.

24' OFFSIDE! Mendez launches a fine strike on the volley towards goal that brings an outstanding save out of Martinez. It would not have counted as Mena was offside in the build-up, but the Aston Villa man did not know that.

22' OFF THE POST! Messi misses an absolute sitter. The 34-year-old latches on to a horrendous backpass from Gruezo, who plays a blind ball back to Galindez. It travels straight to Messi, who only has the Ecuador keeper to beat, but his low effort strikes the inside of the right post before Hincapie clears the rebound.

Á. Preciado

Yellow Card

20' Preciado catches Gonzalez with a late challenge and goes into the book.

19' Argentina are beginning to apply serious pressure on the Ecuador goal. La Tri need to display resilience at the back.

17' WIDE! Messi floats the resulting corner into the box and it travels towards Pezzella at the back. He chests the ball down before firing towards goal, but his effort hits the side-netting on its way wide.

16' BLOCK! Messi makes arun into the box and gets the better of Arboleda. He fires towards goal, but his effort is blocked by Estupinan. Martinez pounces on the rebound, but his shot is deflected wide by Hincapie.

14' ARBOLEDA MAKES A GOAL-SAVING BLOCK! Martinez breaks in behind the Ecuador defence to latch on to Pezzella's ball over the top and flicks the ball past the onrushing Galindez. The forward steers a strike towards goal, but Arboleda covering back towards the line heads clear of danger.

10' Valencia goes down clutching his face after clashing with Acuna down the right flank. However, he soon gets to his feet to allow play to resume.

8' There has not been a great deal of rhythm in the contest in the early stages. It has been a stop-start affair.

6' Ecuador probe forward down the left flank and win a corner as Estupinan deflects the ball off the legs of Molina.

5' Lo Celso lines up a strike from the edge of the box as he latches on to De Paul's offload, but he places it wide of the target.

4' Argentina press forward down the right flank as Messi makes a surge. He sends a cross into the middle that is deflected towards Lo Celso, but Arboleda is on hand to block his progress and win a free-kick for Ecuador.

2' SAVE! Paredes releases Martinez behind the Ecuador defence in the right-inside channel. The Inter forward fires at goal towards the near post, but his effort is saved by Galindez before Martinez gives away a free-kick for a foul on Hincapie.

1' We're under way in this quarter-final clash.

Out of the 36 contests played between Argentina and Ecuador, the Albiceleste have won 21 games. Their last meeting in the Copa America occurred in 2004 where Argentina cruised to a 6-1 triumph.

Ecuador have made two changes to their side from their draw against Brazil last time out. Mena gets the start in the middle of the park after his goal against the Selecao, while Gruezo also comes into the fold in the final third in place of Eduar Preciado.

Scaloni has made seven changes to his side that beat Bolivia last time out. Martinez returns between the posts after missing the victory to displace Armani. Molina returns to the backline in place of Montiel. Paredes, Lo Celso and De Paul get the nod to start in the middle of the park. Martinez and Gonzalez join Messi in attack as the Albiceleste opt to leave Aguero and Di Maria on the sidelines for the start of the game.

ECUADOR SUBS: Felix Torres, Christian Naboa, Fidel Martinez, Leonardo Campana, Michael Estrada, Pedro Ortiz, Xavier Arreaga, Mario Pineida, Gonzalo Plata, Alexander Dominguez, Moises Caicedo, Jose Hurtado Cheme.

ECUADOR (4-2-3-1): Hernan Galindez; Angel Preciado, Piero Hincapie, Robert Arboleda, Pervis Estupinan; Angel Mena, Jhegson Mendez; Alan Steven Franco, Carlos Gruezo, Diego Palacios, Enner Valencia.

ARGENTINA SUBS: Franco Armani, Nicolas Tagliafico, Gonzalo Montiel, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria, Augustin Marchesin, Exequiel Palacios, Joaquin Correa, Guido Rodriguez, Angel Correa, Alejandro Gomez, Lisandro Martinez.

ARGENTINA (4-3-3): Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Acuna; Rodrigo de Paul, Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso; Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Nicolas Gonzalez.

Ecuador have not reached the semi-finals of the Copa America since 1993, and will be aiming to make history tonight against Scaloni's men. Gustavo Alfaro's side failed to win any of their four group matches, but managed to progress to the last eight after drawing three games in a row, including a fine performance to earn a point against Brazil last time out. However, it will take something special to send Lionel Messi and company out of the tournament.

Argentina are bidding to reach the semi-finals of the Copa America for the fourth time in a row in their bid to win their first crown since 1993. Lionel Scaloni's men made it through the group stage, winning three out of their four matches, including a 4-1 hammering of Bolivia last time out. Ecuador will present a challenge, but the Albiceleste will be determined to press into the last four.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Copa America quarter-final clash between Argentina and Ecuador at the Olimpico Pedro Ludovico.

Argentina v Ecuador Live Commentary, 04/07/2021

Key Events

Match Stats

Commentary