in 2011 the cop America was hosted on home soil in Argentina and expectations for a trophy were high Argentina's campaign ended in the quarterfinals with a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay and Messi Who provided three assists in the tournament was unable to lead his team past the stubborn ugu the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil saw Messi at his best and he was perhaps at the peak of his powers at this time he scored four goals leading Argentina to the final against Germany in a tense and tightly contested match Argentina fell 1-0 an extra time as Gonzalo iguin missed several golden chances that would have given Argentina the win despite the defeat Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player which was a small consolation for the Heartbreak of coming so close to capturing World Cup Glory