Two rounds are now in the books at the Copa America tournament and there are now four teams left. The playing field for the MVP award known as the Golden Ball has been narrowed. Who has been the top star in the Copa America to date?

Lionel Messi – Argentina

The naysayers will point to one goal on a penalty and little else. They would be completely right.

The problem is that goals are not everything and Messi is not to blame for only having one tally to his name. In the quarterfinal against Colombia he should have had his second if not for a genius save from the great David Ospina.

However, goals are not everything. Messi is creating a plethora of chances (5.5 shots per game, more than any other player in the tournament). That conversion rate is rather low, especially when considering that on Barcelona he averaged under five shots per game in 2014-15 and scored close to 60 goals.

However, the South American game is characterized by its lack of space and roughhousing and Messi has not been intimidated by either, still managing a whopping 7.5 dribbles per game, better than anyone by a landslide. Against Colombia he had a whopping 10 dribbles.

If Messi continues his current level of play, he could explode in an upcoming game.

Arturo Vidal – Chile

Vidal has been on another level for Chile this entire tournament, leading the way with three goals and one assist. Chile looks like the most dominant side in the tournament and, if it wins the Championship, expect the Juventus man to pick up the Golden Ball.

In his most recent game, he had five shots at goal and all of them were on target. He won three aerials, connected on 91.8 percent of his passes, had four clearances and two tackles. That is as complete a performance as one can have in any game. All he needed was a goal to cap his night. He never got it but Chile won regardless.

Jose Paolo Guerrero – Peru

Peru’s forward put up a stunning performance against Bolivia that featured the tournament’s first and only hat trick to date. He scored each in differing fashion, exemplifying his intelligence all over the pitch and versatility as a goal scorer. He had been playing well throughout the tournament, creating a plethora of chances for Peru and it was only time before he broke out for a big game.

His performance against Bolivia in which he had a whopping 11 shots at goal, four on target, four key passes, eight aerial victorious on only 47 touches is undeniably the single most dominant performance in this entire tournament.

If he plays this way against Chile, then Peru could become an unstoppable force in the final.

Other notable contenders

Sergio Aguero was solid for Argentina against Colombia and could have scored his third of the tournament if not for great goaltending from Ospina. Same for Angel Di Maria who had his best night on Friday against Los Cafeteros.

Jorge Valdivia has three assists in this tournament and has cemented himself as the man pulling the strings in Chile’s midfield. He leads all players in the tournament with 3.3 key passes per game.