Argentina cruise past Paraguay 6-1 to qualify for the Copa America 2015 final. The La Albicelestes will meet hosts Chile in the final on Saturday. Argentina took the lead in the 15th minute via Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo’s tap in. Javier Pastore doubled the lead in the 27th minute. Lucas Barrios then pulled one back in the 43rd minute. The second half witnessed four more goals from the Argentina as Angel Di Maria completed a brace, Sergio Aguero netted one and his replacement Gonzalo Higuain scored the final goal to cap off a wonderful night for the Messi led team.
Gerardo Martino’s men showed clear dominance on the pitch from the very beginning of the match. Argentina were criticized heavily at the beginning of the tournament for not performing as per their potential. On paper, they have the best squad possible in the entire tournament with likes of Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Aguero and of course Lionel Messi in their ranks. The team has finally gained momentum and has done justice to their name.
Marcos Rojo scored the opening goal of the game in the 15th minute. Lionel Messi curled a free-kick which was met by the Manchester United defender inside the Paraguay penalty box. The left-back got space and easily tapped in the ball.
Paris Saint-Germain’s midfielder Javier Pastore increased the lead in the 27th minute. Once again the architect of the move was Lionel Messi. Pastore got the ball from the Barcelona attacker and neatly finished from the edge of the penalty box.
At the stroke of half time, Paraguay took advantage of Argentina’s casual game as they intercepted a move and approached the goal. Lucas Barrios found himself in front of the goal with just Sergi Romero to beat. Barrios attempted a shot which found the back of the net. Paraguay’s hopes rose as they pulled one back just before the half time.
Manchester United star midfielder Angel Di Maria netted a quick brace as soon as the play resumed in the second half he scored. He scored twice in a span of 6 minutes, one from Pastore’s pass and one from Lionel Messi’s to increase the tally to 4 goals.
Sergio Aguero headed home his team’s fifth goal from Angel Di Maria’s cross in the 80th minute. The United star provided a cross from the edge of the box which was headed by Manchester City striker with ease. Aguero was replaced just after the goal and his replacement Gonzalo Higuain proved to be an excellent impact sub as he scored just after taking the field. The Argentinean players constructed and fine move and the Napoli forward scored with ease.
Argentina are now looking dangerous as they have made a mark in the semi-final. They are undoubtedly the favorites to bag the title after 22 long years. Their last major international accolade was Copa America in 1993.
|
Argentina |
Paraguay |
|
1 Sergi Romero |
1 Justo Villar |
|
4 Pablo Zabaletta |
5 Bruno Valdez |
|
15 Martin Demichelis |
14 Paulo da Silva |
|
17 Nicolas Otamendi |
4 Pablo Aguilar |
|
16 Marcos Rojo |
2 Ivan Piris |
|
21 Javier Pastore |
10 Derlis Gonzalez |
|
14 Javier Mascherano |
15 Victor Caceres |
|
16 Lucas Biglia |
13 Richard Ortiz |
|
7 Angel Di Maria |
11 Jorge Benitez |
|
11 Sergio Aguero |
18 Nelson Valdez |
|
10 Lionel Messi |
9 Roque Santa Cruz |
Here are the highlights of the match Argentina 6-1 Paraguay: