Argentina finally broke offensively, destroying Paraguay 6-1 to advance to the Copa America Finals for the first time since 2007.

Argentina had scored just four goals in their opening four games, but had dominated opponents thoroughly throughout and looked primed for a major breakout.

Here are a few reasons why Argentina finally dominated the opposition and is a finalist in this tournament.

Lionel Messi Has His Finest Game of the Year

The myth of Messi playing poorly for Argentina was propagated throughout this tournament as the Barcelona superstar was only able to produce a penalty goal for Argentina in the opening game against Paraguay.

However, he had "quietly" put together a brilliant performance for his nation throughout with increasing flashes of genius that came to the fore in the game against Colombia. Messi was nigh untouchable in that game, running through the heart of midfield and only being stopped by fouls and brusque play from the Colombians.

Yet he had nothing to show for his efforts.

On Tuesday he finally got rewarded, collecting three assists and being involved in some capacity on every single goal Argentina scored.

On the opening goal he rifled in a free kick that Marcos Rojo latched on to. On the second goal, he raced through the middle of pitch, dribbled toward the box at full speed and then delivered a beautiful throughball for Javier Pastore that ended up in the back of the net.

The third goal was the one in which he had the "least involvement," dishing it off to Javier Mascherano before he launched the pass up the midfield on the break. One pass later, it was another goal.

On the fourth tally, it was Messi doing his usually dribbling past two or three defenders before finding an open attacker on the left wing. The resulting shot did not end up a goal, but deflected to an open Angel Di Maria who deposited into a vacant net.

On the fifth strike Messi made a brilliant pass over the top of the defense to set up a cross from Di Maria that wound up being headed home by Sergio Aguero. On the final strike, Messi earned his final assist, somehow getting the ball free to Gonzalo Higuain while on the floor.

He finished the night with four shots, five key passes and completed 90.7 percent of his passes. He led all players on the pitch with 79 touches and six dribbles.

This might not be a three-goal night as he is wont to put up on Barcelona, but when you are directly involved on six goals in one way or another, it is hard to have a better night.

Counter Attacks and Speed

For most of this tournament, Argentina had been locked into a possession game of cat and mouse. The team would pass around methodically looking for an opening against a stout defense that would sit back and prepare for a counter.

Paraguay did not seem intent on that plan in this game, instead opting to attack more directly; the team with finished with 14 shots on goal, one fewer than Argentina. If that is not a wide open game, then what is?

This played beautifully into Argentina's hands, allowing the team to attack with greater ferocity and speed. Of its six goals, one came off a dead ball two came off possession play around the box area and three came off of the counter. Three!

The second and third goal and particularly were beautifully executed counter attacks with each pass more precise than the previous one.

If Argentina plays this way in the final, Chile will be dazed and confused.

Angel Di Maria Breaks Through

The Manchester United player's last brilliant game for Argentina came almost a year ago when he put up a massive stat line in the nation's win over Germany in a friendly. In this tournament, he had been a virtual non-entity, showing some moments of confidence, particularly against Colombia, but without consistency.

On Tuesday, he scored two goals, one of them a beautiful finish off a counter and the other off a fortuitous bounce. He also added a brilliant assist from a cross on the left wing. He had two key passes and completed 80 percent of his passes.