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RIO DE JANEIRO. — Argentina and Chile on Monday night booked their places in the Copa America quarter-finals, ending top of Group A, after low-scoring matches that left the other two spots up for grabs.
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 placed Lionel Messi’s La Albiceleste top of Group A with seven points — enough to secure their spot in the next phase of the tournament, being played in empty stadiums, in coronavirus-battered Brazil.
The match marked a personal milestone for Messi, who tied Javier Mascherano’s record for the most games played for Argentina — 147.
But, it was not a night of glory for Messi or his team, who in the second half seemed to resign themselves to defending a spirited, but ultimately fruitless, Paraguayan attack.
Chile drew 1-1 with Uruguay, to end the day with five points.
With four matches left to play in Group A, Paraguay have three points, Uruguay one, and Bolivia zero, meaning they all still stand a theoretical chance to go to the quarter-finals.
Brazil have already 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-governmentprotests.
The contest had already been delayed by a year due to the pandemic and many players and coaches spoke out against it going ahead before the tournament began.
The build-up to Monday’s Chile-Uruguay game had been overshadowed by controversy in the Chile camp after revelations the team had breached Covid-19 protocols by bringing a local hairdresser into the team hotel.
CONMEBOL said it would fine those involved US$30 000. — AFP.
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