took Lionel Messi 28 years to get around to playing a competitive game in the U.S. It was worth waiting for.
After sitting out Argentina’s first game in the Copa America Centenario, Messi entered the second match, against Panama, as a second-half substitute, then scored three goals and assisted on a fourth in just 29 minutes.
In less than half an hour, Messi was tied for the tournament lead in scoring and had taken his team through to the quarterfinals. Entering Monday’s games, seven of the 16 teams in the tournament hadn’t scored as much.
“Messi,” Panama Coach Hernan Dario Gomez said with equal parts awe and respect, “is a monster.”
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All of which raises one big question heading into the final day of group play Tuesday: What will Messi do for an encore when Argentina, the world’s top-ranked team, plays win-less Bolivia, at No. 82 the lowest-rated team in the tournament, in Seattle (FS1, Unimas, UDN, 7 p.m.)?
If you believe Messi, there’s a lot of room to improve after he sat out two weeks with a bruised back.
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