Lionel Messi was left "very angry" with his miss in the penalty shoot-out during Argentina's victory over Ecuador in the Copa America quarter-finals.

La Albiceleste advanced to the semi-finals after a dramatic contest at the NRG Stadium, where Kevin Rodriguez's injury-time equalizer ensured the match would go to penalties following Lisandro Martinez's first-half opener that left the score at 1-1.

Messi was the first to step up for his team but saw his penalty hit the crossbar. Fortunately for the 37-year-old, Emiliano Martinez saved penalties from Angel Mena and Alan Minda, allowing Argentina to triumph 4-2 in the shoot-out.

Speaking after the game, Messi told reporters: "I was convinced to take it like that (a Panenka). I had discussed it with Dibu (Martinez) and Rulli... I had been shooting several cross-shots in a row, and indeed, the Ecuadorian goalkeeper dove for a cross-shot. I tried to touch it, and it went a bit high. It made me very angry."

Messi, who reappeared after missing the match against Peru, said he felt good. "I'm fine. I didn't feel any discomfort and was able to finish the match," said the captain, who also complained again about the condition of the pitches.

"It's a reality that the pitches aren't good," he said, while acknowledging the challenging match Ecuador had posed. "We knew the match was going to be like this, that it would be a very tough opponent. Ecuador is an intense team, and the pitch didn't help much with play, but the important thing is that we advanced," he added.

Scaloni defended him

Argentina's coach, Lionel Scaloni, was quick to absolve his talisman of any blame when addressing a press conference.

"He played like the rest of the team, we are a team. This is a team; if the team played well, he played well. We have never separated the individual from the collective," he said.

Messi missed Argentina's last group stage match against Peru due to injury, but Scaloni insists that did not impact his performance, adding: "Leo had a good game. In the end, they also planned a game or system where when we had the ball, two defenders came to attack, so this is a chess game. He has been away for seven days, but we didn't notice the inactivity mentioned in the question."