Argentina, Chile to Copa America quarter-final
22 June, 2021
Argentina and Chile on Monday booked their places in the Copa America quarter-finals, ending top of Group A after low-scoring matches that left the other two spots shared.
Argentina logged its second win in three group matches played, beating Paraguay 1-0, with Alejandro "Papu" Gomez scoring the sole goal of a lacklustre match in Brasilia in the ninth minute.
The win located Lionel Messi's La Albiceleste top of Group A with seven points -- enough to secure its spot in the next phase of the tournament being played in empty stadiums in coronavirus-battered Brazil.
The match marked an individual milestone for Messi, who tied Javier Mascherano's record for the most games played for Argentina -- 147.
But it had not been a nights glory for Messi or his team, who in the next half appeared to resign themselves to defending a spirited, but ultimately fruitless, Paraguayan attack.
In the other match Monday, Chile drew 1-1 with Uruguay to get rid of your day with five log points.
With four matches left to play in Group A, Paraguay has three points, Uruguay one, and Bolivia zero, meaning they all still stand a theoretical chance to go to the quarter-finals.
Brazil has recently qualified from Group B.
Despite opposition from politicians and citizens, Brazil agreed at the 11th hour to host the world's oldest international tournament after South American football's governing body CONMEBOL took it from co-hosts Argentina, battling a pandemic surge, and Colombia where dozens have died in anti-government protests.
The contest had already been delayed by a year as a result of pandemic and several players and coaches spoke out against it going ahead prior to the tournament began.
The build-up to Monday's Chile-Uruguay game have been overshadowed by controversy in the Chile camp after revelations the team had breached Covid-19 protocols by bringing a local hairdresser in to the team hotel.
CONMEBOL said it would fine those involved $30,000.
However there is no sign of the controversy affecting their play, with Vargas firing Chile ahead on 26 minutes from a good angle after latching onto a clever pass from English-born Ben Brereton.
Uruguay grabbed a share of the points in the second-half when Suarez bundled in the ball from close range during a tangle with former Barcelona team-mate Arturo Vidal at the far post carrying out a corner.
Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani almost snatched victory for Uruguay in the 85th minute, but his glancing header flashed just wide of the post.
Vargas's first-half strike saw him draw level with Peru's Paolo Guerrero on 14 goals in the Copa America's all-time goalscoring rankings, three behind the record of 17 held by Brazil's Zizinho and Argentina's Norberto Mendez.
Source: www.daily-sun.com
TAG(s):