By the time Lionel Messi checked in at halftime, Erik Lamela, Ezequiel Lavezzi and the rest of his teammates had Argentina well on its way to the top spot in Group D of the Copa America.

Lamela and Lavezzi scored 2 minutes apart early in the first half, Victor Cuesta scored his first international goal later in the half and Argentina dominated Bolivia 3-0 on Tuesday night to be the only team in the entire tournament to win all three group games.

Messi subbed on at the beginning of the second half for his most extensive game action since Barcelona beat Sevilla 2-0 to win the Copa del Rey on May 22.

In the time since, Messi suffered a back injury, testified in his tax fraud trial in Spain and scored a hat trick off the bench in a 5-0 win over Panama last week.

But the goals came from his teammates as Argentina clinched a matchup with Venezuela in the quarterfinals. And all that dominance came with Messi relaxing on the bench, hearing his name chanted by the crowd throughout the first half as they eagerly anticipated the chance to see the best player of this generation coming off a memorable reserve performance just a few days earlier against Panama.

"People want to see him. People pay all over the world to see him and he has to deal with that," Argentina manager Gerardo Martino said through an interpreter. "Sometimes he has to play and sometimes he has to be on the bench but he has that obligation to follow through for the fans who are paying to be there. He has to live with that."

Argentina is in search of its first major international championship since winning the Copa America in 1993.

Bolivia last beat Argentina in 2009, but that victory came at 12,000 feet at home in La Paz. At sea level in Seattle, the Bolivians stood no chance.

 

Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez each scored twice and Chile advanced to the Copa America Centenario quarterfinals with a 4-2 win over Panama on Tuesday.

Chile (2-0-1) clinched second place in Group D and will face Mexico in the next round on Saturday in Santa Clara, California. Panama (1-0-2) was eliminated.

Miguel Camargo scored for Panama in the fifth minute with a shot that deflected off Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Vargas equalized 10 minutes later on a rebound off an Alexis Sanchez shot.

The Hoffenheim striker added his second goal with a header just before halftime, and Sanchez scored in the 50th and 90th minute. Abdiel Arroyo scored for Panama in the 75th.

Defending Copa America champion Chile had several other scoring chances, including an Arturo Vidal header saved by Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo in the first half.