Lionel Messi could not hide his delight after Argentina knocked out Colombia in a penalty shootout on Tuesday night to book their place in the Copa America final.

It is there, in the final, where they will face Brazil at the Estadio Maracana on Saturday night, and Messi knows that this is the fixture football fans around the world want to tune in for.

"We are both in the final. It's going to be the final we were all hoping for, it's going to be very close, very difficult," Messi recognised in his post-match interview.

"We achieved our first objective, which was to play every game. Now we will try to win the final."

Neymar had already stated prior to Argentina's tie against Colombia that he hoped Messi and co. would advance, and that has been the case.

"I know Neymar said it because he's a good guy, it's the final we were all waiting for," Messi noted.

"We've achieved the first goal. We have a goalkeeper [Emi Martinez] who is a fantastic player."

Messi spoke more about Emi Martinez and emphasised just how delighted he is with him.

"At times it was difficult. But we have Emi, who is a fantastic player. We trusted him," he commented.

"We achieved the objective of being able to play all the matches and now we are going for the final.