Argentina made it to the final of the Copa America 2015 tournament with a 6-1 victory over Paraguay in the semi-finals, and as they take on Chile, Barcelona's Lionel Messi hopes he will be able to score in the title game.
Messi, 28, helped Argentina score five of their six goals against Paraguay as he shredded up the Paraguay defence time and time again. Now against host nation Chile, he wants to be the one finding the net.
"I hope to God that my goals are being saved for the final," Messi told reporters following the drubbing of Paraguay, according to ESPN.
"But in the final it doesn't matter whether the goals come from me or anyone else. We have met our first goal. We have made it to the final of a World Cup and now Copa America. We are coming into it with great hope," Messi stated.
The Barcelona star had a splendid performance against Paraguay, getting his first assist after Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo scored in the 15<sup>th minute. Twelve minutes later, Messi found Paris Saint-Germain defender Javier Pastore for Argentina's second goal.
Messi's last assist came in the second half, when S.S.C. Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuaín scored Argentina's last goal in the 83<sup>rd minute to bury Paraguay 6-1. Along with the three assists, Messi was involved in setting up two more goals in the victory.
"Today, all the chances happened for us together. And we found the goal quickly, we found more spaces, and that forced them to come to us. They found the 2-1 but we kept it up. Playing this way can generate a lot of chances," Messi said.
Chile, themselves have done very well to get through to the final and have lived up to their billing as the host nation, delighting their home fans by going all the way to the final. They will now have their entire nation cheering them on as they look to win their first Copa America title. However, whether they will have enough to navigate their way past Lionel Messi and Co. remains to be seen.
The Copa America 2015 Final will be played on Saturday, July 4, at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos with a start time of 4 p.m. ET (9 p.m. BST).
