Lionel Messi led defending champion Argentina to advance to the Copa America quarterfinals after a hard-fought win against Chile on Tuesday night.
Substitute Lautaro Martínez scored in the 88th minute, which earned the Albiceleste a 1-0 win.
Messi started the leadup to the goal with a corner kick that was sent toward goal with a glancing header by defender Lisandro Martínez.
The ball landed in front of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, where Argentina’s Giovani Lo Celso and Chile’s Nicolás Fernández were contesting.
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Lo Celso kicked the ball off Bravo and it rebounded to Chile’s Igor Lichnovsky, who tried to poke it wide, but Lautaro Martínez, who entered in the 73rd, calmly one-timed that rebound into the roof of the net on Argentina’s 21st shot.
Players waited for three minutes while the goal, Martínez’s 26th for the national team, was confirmed in a video review.
Argentina leads Group A with six points, followed by Canada with three, and Chile and Peru with one each.
The world champions finish the first round against Peru at Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, when Canada meets Chile in Orlando, Florida.
