Two of the most hyped games of this tournament so far came to be two of the biggest routs of this tournament. In the first game, Argentina vs. Venezuela, Lionel Messi started his first game of the tournament and had a chance at goal when his chip from outside the box landed in the arms of Venezuela's keeper Daniel Hernandez. 2 minutes later, Messi's shot just went wide of the far post. In the 8th minute, Messi assisted on a goal after a beautiful cross was laid to Gonzalo Higuain, who tapped it past Hernandez. Messi thought he was fouled later in the 22nd when Arquimedes Figuera tripped him up, but there was no call. Higuain got another goal in the 28th when he intercepted Figuera's pass, danced around the keeper, and rolled the ball into the net. Venezuela had a couple of chances to make it 2-1, but nothing work. Argentina's Sergio Romero saved Solomon Rondon's blasting shot, and then Rondon's header hit the post. But the worst came in the 44th, when Venezuela had a chance from a penalty kick, Luis Seijas tried to do a slick chip, but Romero didn't have to move to stop the ball. Messi finally scored in the 60th when he got the ball from Nicolas Gaitan, and five-holed it past Hernandez. Rondon got one back when he skimmed a header that hit post and in, but Erik Lamela kept the score deficit at 3 when his slow shot deflected before going under Hernandez's hand. The US are the next to host Argentina.
The other, more hyped game was Chile-Mexico. Mexico had a 22 game unbeaten streak, and Chile are the defending champs. However, the final score signified the exact opposite. Edson Puch scored in the 15th for Chile when Alexis Sanchez found Marcelo Diaz free outside the box. Diaz's shot was well blocked Mexico's keeper Guillermo Ochoa, but Puch was there for the tap in. In the 44th, minutes after Eduardo Vargas's offside, disallowed goal, Vargas made it 2-0 for Chile when Jean Beausejour crossed the ball in for Vargas to strike in. The worst for Mexico came in the next 15 minutes, when they gave up 3 goals. In the 49th, Sanchez tapped in Arturo Vidal's pass. Vargas scored the next 3 for 4 goals overall in the game, scoring in the 52nd, 57th, and 74th minutes to make it 6-0. Vidal had two open chances, but those went just over the bar. The final score was 7-0, after Puch scored in the 87th to anger the Mexican fans. It was truly a historic night for both teams; for one excitement, and for the other team to forget quickly. Chile plays Colombia Wednesday in the semifinal.
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