Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has boosted his chances of winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or Award after his two-goal performance at the Copa America tournament earlier this week. Messi scored twice in the first half as Argentina thrashed lowly Bolivia 4-1 to seal top spot in Group A. The Argentina national team skipper also provided an assist during the game against the Bolivians.
Argentina took the lead inside the first six minutes after Alejandro Gomez found the back of the net off the assist from Messi. The Barcelona talisman added a second goal from the penalty spot on 33 minutes before he added his brace nine minutes later to take the game beyond the reach of the Bolivians.
The brace from Messi gave Argentina a 3-0 lead at the halftime break. Bolivia attacker Erwin Saavedra pulled one back for Bolivia on the hour mark before Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez wrapped up the result with his first goal of the tournament five minutes later.
The Argentines finished the group stage with ten points from the four games played. Messi and Argentina will now face Ecuador in the quarterfinals this weekend as the Barcelona attacker target the end to the trophy drought for his country. Argentina have not won a major trophy since the 1993 edition of the Copa America tournament.
Messi finished third behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski for the 2020 FIFA Ballon d'Or Award and he would be hoping to see off other challengers to win the award this year. The Barcelona superstar has fellow challengers like Paris Saint Germain (PSG) star KylianMbappe, Chelsea midfielder N'GoloKanteand Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski to contend with for the FIFA Ballon d'Or Award this year. Messi has already started well with his impressive performances for Argentina at the Copa America tournament. The Barcelona player is the highest goalscorerat the tournament with three goals at the end of the group stage.
