Messi is back with Argentina, and he made his presence felt immediately.
The talented Argentinean footballer came on after 61 minutes to play against Panama, and he gave fans their money's worth with a scintillating brace in just a matter of 16 minutes.
"La Pulga" scored his first goal thanks to a failed clearance by Panama's defense. As the ball bounced back from Gonzalo Higuaín's face, Barcelona's playmaker took the ball and put it past Jaime Penedo to score La Albiceleste's second goal of the evening.
Gol Messi #SinHashtags https://t.co/VJj1osAHAH
— LaCascara.TV (@la_cascara) June 11, 2016
Minutes later, Messi scored his second goal of the tournament with an impressive free kick. Hardly putting up an effort, the Argentine ace sent the ball into the top left hand corner of Penedo's net, giving fans something to talk about and confirming Argentina's spot in the quarter-final stage.
#CoberturaTelcel ¡GOOOOLAZO DE @Argentina! Messi la manda al ángulo ¡EN VIVO! en TDcom https://t.co/kp8FOvs3wt https://t.co/Cfj14WNkm4
— Televisa Deportes (@TD_Deportes) June 11, 2016
If that wasn't enough, Messi scored his third goal of the day by dribbling inside Panama's box and sending the ball once again to the back of the net.
#CoberturaTelcel ¡GOOOOL DE @Argentina! Messi firma el cuarto ¡EN VIVO! en TDcom https://t.co/kp8FOvs3wt https://t.co/pN4vs5SKqv
— Televisa Deportes (@TD_Deportes) June 11, 2016
Before this game, Messi had only scored three goals in 16 Copa América games. He only needed 25 minutes to match that tally.
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