Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi in action against Bolivia. (Photo : Getty Images)
The world's number one national football team, Argentina, will look to keep their unbeaten record in the 2016 Copa América Centenario as they face surprise squad Venezuela in one of the tournament's quarterfinals matches at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Saturday, June 18.
Argentina, currently ranked first in the world by FIFA, swept the group stage of the competitions as they convincingly defeated all of their opponents in Group D, namely Chile, Panama, and Bolivia, to advance in the knockout stages.
In their last game, head coach Gerardo Martino's squad pulled off their second consecutive lopsided clean sheet as they crushed Bolivia, 3-0, at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Tuesday, as per Goal.
A first half blitz with goals from club stars Erik Lamela, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Victor Cuesta at the 13th, 15th, and 32nd minutes respectively gave La Albiceleste a huge three-point advantage that was never threatened throughout the match.
Team captain Lionel Messi did not even play in the whole first half as he substituted for premier goalscorer Gonzalo Higuaín one minute after the restart. Messi and company merely coasted in the second half as they continued to control the ball.
There were a couple of crowd-pleasing moves from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner during his stay in the pitch as he just seemed to enjoy the moment and no longer pressuring the La Verde defense.
Meanwhile, Venezuela was the surprise of the tournament after they defeated Jamaica and world no. 9 Uruguay in the group stage to advance in the quarters. According to pre-tournament predictions, they have the least chance of getting into the knockout stage and they proved the odds wrong.
Venezuela held powerhouse squad Mexico to a 1-1 draw in their final Group C fixture held at the NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday, via ESPN.
La Vinotinto defender José Manuel Velázquez netted the opening goal right at the 10th minute of the contest off a pass from teammate Christian Santos.
Head coach Rafael Dudamel's men looked headed to another upset win, but the Mexicans were able to equalize it with just ten minutes left before full time via a goal from Jesus Corona to save the draw and their confidence.
While Venezuela is expected to give Argentina a tough time in their match, their more illustrious counterparts are projected to prevail and advance in the semifinals.
The predicted result is a 2-0 win for Argentina.
Argentina starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Romero; Roncaglia, Otamendi, Cuesta, Funes Mori; Banega, Mascherano; Lavezzi, Messi, Agüero; Higuaín
Venezuela starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Hernandez; Gonzalez, Angel, Velazquez, Feltscher; Guerra, Rincon, Seijas, Penaranda; Martinez, Rondón
