SEATTLE -- Argentina manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino confirmed that Lionel Messi will feature for his team when they face Venezuela in the Copa America quarterfinals, after the Barcelona striker made a 45-minute cameo in a 3-0 win versus Bolivia on Tuesday.
Messi, 28, was injured in a friendly match with Honduras before the Copa began, but he's now come on twice for Argentina in the Centenario edition of the South American competition.
Against Panama, the Albiceleste talisman registered a hat trick as a second-half substitute. Although he didn't score versus Bolivia, Messi did provide some exciting moments with a narrow miss on goal from a free kick and a heated exchange with opposite number Jhasmani Campos after a hard foul.
Martino said: "Leo will play, for sure. People want to see him. People pay, all over the world, to see him. And he has to deal with that.
"Sometimes he has to play, and sometimes he has to be on the bench. But he has that obligation, to fulfill and follow through with the fans that are paying for him to be there. He understands that. And he lives with that."
Martino confirmed that there was never any question that Messi would see action against Bolivia, even though Argentina had already clinched a quarterfinal berth.
"Regardless of the score, after the first half he knew he was going to play for 45 minutes," the coach said.
Martino didn't guarantee that Messi would start in on Saturday against Venezuela (7 p.m. ET on FS1) in Foxborough, Massachusetts. But he does think Messi is making progress.
"It's different than against Chile -- He was not able to play at all," Martin said. "He didn't have his shoes on or anything. He's growing compared to the last game because last game he played 30 [minutes], today 45. He feels more and more confident."
Martino said Argentina are not letting down their guard heading into the quarterfinals.
"We have a solid team. We played well in the first half [against Bolivia], and that was the difference," he said. "It ended a good first step, but it is useless for what is to come next. But my team is alert."
Erik Lamela, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Miguel Cuesta provided the goalscoring in a dominant performance by Argentina as they secured the top spot in Group D. Sergio Aguero was also a key player for Martino, with the Manchester City striker probing the Bolivian defence all night and pulling the strings for the team in the offensive third.
"We are in a good moment, we have many players recovering from injuries and we're good for the final stretch."