And after their slow start he rang the changes with Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi benched and Higuain brought in as a classic centre forward allowing Messi to concentrate more on his string pulling out of the immediate firing line.
Where Messi in particular was concerned, the plan worked like a dream, as the Barcelona man was involved in almost every move, tearing Costa Rica's defence to shreds with his incisive passing and weaving in and out.
Argentina''s revamped forward line lay siege to Leonel Moreira's goalmouth from the outset, with Real Madrid''s Higuain firing a snap shot well wide on the turn before Messi, having hit the woodwork with a freekick, drove just over.
Aguero then drilled a low effort just past the post as the one-way traffic continued before Messi went off on a run down the right, only for Aguero to blast off target after taking his through pass.
Again, world player of the year Messi, facing huge popular criticism for his country's poor start following draws with Bolivia and Colombia, ran at the Costa Rican defence, finding Higuain, who drove wildly over from barely ten yards out.
But the dam had to burst and it finally did seconds before the interval.
AFP