Messi was back after the injury – but missed a penalty in the match's last dramatic minutes.
Despite this, Argentina won against Ecuador and advanced to the semifinals in the South American Football Championship in the USA.
Argentina took the lead 1–0 when Lisandro Martinez headed the ball in after almost half an hour of play in Houston, Texas.
Then it seemed like the victory was the reigning World Champions' until Ecuador's Kevin Rodríguez equalized to 1–1 in added time in the 91st minute and took the match to a penalty shootout. In Copa América, no extra time is played in playoff matches that end in a draw after regular time.
Prior to the match, there had been speculation about whether Lionel Messi, who had been struggling with a leg injury, would appear on the pitch or not. The world star did, starting the match and playing the whole game, but in the penalty shootout, he kicked it straight into the post.
It went better for the rest of the team. Argentina won 4–2 on penalties and is thus advancing to the semifinals, awaiting the winner of the match between Canada and Venezuela.
Corrected: In an earlier version of this text, it was stated that Ecuador scored in extra time. The correct statement is that it was in added time.
