Messi's classy message after dazzling performance against Ecuador

A vintage performance from Lionel Messi helped Argentina cruise to victory over Ecuador and progress into the next round of the Copa America.

Lionel Messi brushed aside his own brilliance in Argentina’s 3-0 quarter-final win over Ecuador in favor congratulating his teammates for all their efforts.

Messi’s future may dominate headlines over in Europe, but that’s clearly not the case in South America. He wants that elusive first Copa America title and spared nothing in Saturday’s victory.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner had a hand in all Argentina’s three goals by assisting Rodrigo De Paul and Lautaro Martinez before capping things off with another one of his trademark free-kicks.

#CopaAmérica 🏆

¡Bombazo! Lionel Messi la clavó de tiro libre para el 3-0 final de @Argentina sobre @LaTri

🇦🇷 Argentina 🆚 Ecuador 🇪🇨#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/FcvQrHuRka

— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) July 4, 2021

“I always say it: individual [moments] are secondary, we are here for something else,” Messi told reporters after the match.

“I want to congratulate the group for the work they are doing – we have been away from our families for many days.”

On the game against Ecuador, he added: “It was a very difficult match, we knew about the difficulty of the opponent. It was hard-fought until we got the goal, then it became more tangled. The important thing is that we took one more step.”

Messi has now supplied four goals and four assists in five appearances in the 2021 Copa America tournament.

Colombia next await Argentina on Tuesday for a semi-final clash and the winner will face either Brazil or Peru in the final on July 10.