Messi, Argentina crush Paraguay 6-1 to reach Copa America final (Video)

Lionel Messi starred as Argentina routed Paraguay 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the Copa America final.

After a cautious start from both sides, Marcos Rojo opened the scoring for Argentina just shy of the quarter-hour mark. Messi provided the delivery from a free kick, and Rojo did well to fight off the defender on his back and beat the keeper with his favored left foot. It may not have been one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament, but the end result put a smile on the face of Argentina manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino.

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Messi's involvement in the first goal would foreshadow his direct influence on the match. Despite claiming any goals of his own, the maestro orchestrated his team's dominance against the team that knocked out Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Almost immediately after the first goal went in, Paraguay's luck would worsen. Midfielder Derlis Gonzalez would exit the match with a hamstring injury forcing an early change. At the stroke of 30 minutes, Paraguay captain Roque Santa Cruz would also hobble over to the bench, leaving Paraguay only one substitution for the second half.

To add insults to the injuries, the Argentines would score a second goal before the first half hour was up. Once again, Messi played his part, as the Barcelona magician played a perfect pass for Javier Pastore. Pastore used a touch before putting his laces through the ball and easily beating Paraguay goal keeper Justo Villar.

However, Paraguay would fight back and create a bit of doubt. Just as Argentina began to eye the dressing room for the halftime intermission, substitute Lucas Barrios stepped up and took advantage of a sleepy and out-of-position Argentina defense. Barrios hit a wonderful strike to the left corner and pulled back a goal for the underdogs.

Entering the locker room, Paraguay coming back from two goals down against Argentina appeared like a real possibility because, well, Paraguay had come from two goals down against the same Argentina side in the group stages. In that contest, Paraguay scored twice in the second half with Barrios leveling the score in stoppage time. This time, Paraguay only needed one second half score.

Unfortunately for Paraguay, Argentina had no interest in sitting back and protecting a lead. Within three minutes of the restart, Pastore would turn provider for Angel Di Maria. The Manchester United man used his pace to create separation and scored Argentina's third goal with a perfect shot across the keeper.

If there was any doubt that Argentina would be booking its ticket to Santiago for the final, Messi would immediately erase it. The Barcelona man went on a trademark run that cut through two Paraguay defenders before playing a simple ball that cut out a third. At that point, Argentina had a four-on-one situation, and Di Maria would finish the move on the rebound.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Argentina led 4-1. Paraguay would not be coming back this time.

As a side that had only managed four goals in the first four games of the tournament, Argentina scored four goals in the first hour of Tuesday's semifinal. Then, Sergio Aguero would score a header in the 80th minute from a pinpoint cross off Di Maria's left boot. Aguero would be immediately substituted, and his replacement, Gonzalo Higuain, would score within a couple minutes of stepping on the pitch.

In all, Messi would finish with three assists. His final assist came on Higuain's goal, as Messi managed to find the 27-year-old despite slipping and falling down.

Paraguay will face Peru in the third-place game on Friday. Argentina will face host-nation Chile in Santiago on Saturday.

Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports helping covering the beautiful game globally. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass