Reported By:
| Edited By: Pranav Joshi |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Sep 29, 2017, 11:05 PM IST
FULL-TIME: Let's take a breath. Argentina have won 6-1. Two to Di Maria, one to Aguero, one to Rojo, one to Pastore and one to Higuain. It also means Messi hasn't scored yet in this competition! But he made 3 assists, the most for any player in a Copa America semifinal. Paraguay's defending was weak throughout and though hopes were briefly raised when they scored in the 43rd minute, Argentina were too good and too relentless in the end. 6-1 is a huge win and Argentina are now firm favourites to win the Copa America title when they face Chile in the final in Santiago.
90 + 1' A Paraguay free kick in the first (and last) minute of added time is hit straight to Sergio Romero. The whistle sounds and it's full time. Argentina have thrashed Paraguay 6-1.
88' A fight for possession between Demichelis and Bobdilla results in the Argentina making a successful tackle, which results in a Paraguayan corner that is wasted again.
Gotta be real and say Brazil was lucky for getting knocked out!! Argentinas team is on another level #chile2015
— D_K (@TheRealD_K) July 1, 2015
87' Otamendi is brutally taken down on the midline by , but it only results in a free kick.
85' I can't take a water break here because of Argentina! A corner to Argentina now results in a perfect ball in, but Higuain heads it over the goal this time.
Fact :Messi is the first player to assist 3 goals in a semi final of copa america
— InfosBarcelona (@InfosBarcelona) July 1, 2015
83' GOAL! Make that 6-1! Messi finds Higuain in the centre after Argentina steal possession from a Paraguay defender. He falls over as he passes, but Higuain simply taps it into goal.
81' Aguero is immediately replaced by Gonzalo Higuain.
80' GOAL!! Make that 5-1 for Argentina! This time it's Aguero with a header from the middle! Again, the initial pass was made by Messi through two defenders into the left flank for Di Maria, who fed Aguero in the middle. Three defenders who had converged in the centre did not move as Aguero put in the perfect header.
77' Xavier Mascherano has been substituted by Fernando Gago for Argentina.
Most assists by Messi in a single season for club and country: 33 | 2011-12 31 | 2014-15 (ongoing) 29 | 2010-11 #chile2015
— MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) July 1, 2015
76' Benitez gets a free kick as Rojo tackles him in the right flank and the ball goes out of play. The free kick is remarkably dispirited and Argentina regain possession.
73' Aguero finds himself alone in front of a charging Argentine attack, and is eventually adjudged offside.
72' A run through the middle by Benitez ends in nothing as the final ball is very weak and simply trickles into the hands of Sergio Romero.
70' Twenty minutes to go as Paraguay get a free kick from behind the penalty area, but it is cleared by the Argentine defence.
68' I don't know this Messi. A Messi-Pastore combo ends with Messi almost hugging the keeper in the centre. His finish is abysmally weak though as he shoots straight into Villar's hands. Messi is yet to score a goal this Copa America, except for the penalty against Paraguay in the earlier game.
67' Argentina have bogged down Paraguay in the midfield for now. With only 23 minutes of normal time left, this may be enough to compensate for any late Paraguay goals.
66' An Argentine free kick is taken short by Mascherano.
64' A sedate round of fighting for possession follows. Argentina are not playing so high up anymore, at least momentarily content to keep possession.
60' Messi takes the free kick. He misses everyone in the middle though not by much. The ball is brought back into the midfield and Mascherano passes to the right flank.
Así está la posesión del balón en 15 minutos del complemento. #ARG 4-1 #PAR http://t.co/UYuWUXQAoA #Chile2015 pic.twitter.com/fp0XQhG31Z
— Copa América 2015 (@CA2015) July 1, 2015
59' Richard Ortiz gets a yellow card for a challenge on Sergio Aguero. Another Argentine set piece.
58' A challenge on Sergio Aguero results in a free kick for Argentina. The ball in is good but Messi falls over as he attempts a header.
57' A Messi-Pastore combine almost scores a fifth goal. Messi is desperately felled by a Paraguayan defender right in front of goal.
56' Romero comes in for Valdez for Paraguay, their second substitution. Desperation in the ranks now.
53' GOAL! Di Maria has two! Messi makes a run through the centre, is momentarily dispossessed but then regains the ball and crosses to Pastore, who crosses to Di Maria on the right, who finishes perfectly. Argentina 4-1, and now it may just be too much for Paraguay.
WE ARE GOING TO FINAAAAAALLSSS YESSSS THIS IS HAPPENINGG FELLASS #chile2015
— Umama Salman (@umama96) July 1, 2015
52' Messi was making a damaging run into his own third, as the Paraguayan strikers converge on him. Argentina manage to clear the danger though.
49' Argentina's attacking greatness is coming alive. Their defensive weaknesses though persist. Can Paraguay turn it around again as they did in the group stage game?
47' GOAL! Pastore runs through the centre and then feeds Di Maria on the left through a brilliant ball. Di Maria's resulting kick is perfect as the ball lands in the right lower corner of the goal.
I believe we win Copa America! #Argentina
— Mark (@sfcrx) July 1, 2015
47' A beautiful ball forward by Lionel Messi is caught by the Paraguayan keeper before Di Maria can have a go at it. He had a clear field to the right.
46' Argentina kick off the second half in Concepcion.
We're ready for the second half. Argentina are in trouble despite being in front. Messi is talking to his boys. Paraguay are chuffed.
HALF-TIME: What a half. Argentina were relentless for most of it and at 2-0 in 27 minutes, had one foot in the final. But Paraguay have reversed the momentum with the Barrios goal and suddenly it's Argentina who look vulnerable. Paraguay have once again shown the ability to come back. Is there an upset coming? Argentina 2-1 Paraguay.
45' ALMOST 2-2! Barrios is causing huge problems for Argentina. His run into the right of the Argentine box gets compounded by Di Maria who decides to fling himself in the way. Barrios retains possession but his resulting confusion means his final ball is scooped high over the goal!
44' Now Paraguay have a spring in their stride and the Argentine defence suddenly seems thrown open. Another charge into the Argentine third by Valdez though results in a poor final ball that flies over the left of the goal.
43' GOAL! Barrios finds space in the middle for Paraguay and runs on, then left-foots it superbly into the goal from about 25 yards. The Argentine defence was caught AWOL there. Romero actually got a hand to it.
41' Valdez misses! A superb tackle by Demichelis prevents a Paraguay comeback. Valdez was at the edge of the penalty area in the middle and his swift left kick attempt is blocked and the ball goes for a corner.
40' A Paraguay corner is again wasted as the ball in is inaccurate and falls to an Argentine defender who clears wildly.
39' Again Messi goes straight for goal himself, and again he shoots over the goal. A collective sigh from the crowd.
38' Another Argentina free kick following a relentless assault into the Paraguay third by Argentina. Messi is eventually felled and here's yet another chance.
Messi playing this game like Bugs Bunny plays American football. In every position at once, somehow. #chile2015
— Daniel Edwards (@DanEdwardsGoal) July 1, 2015
35' A clear field for Di Maria there on the left flank following the lunging ball through to him, but he is found offside and abandons the final ball.
33' Argentina once again manfully keep out an attack by Paraguay. It is proving hard to get past the Argentine defence tonight. Shades of the knockout stages of the World Cup.
31' Messi gets a free kick following a challenge by de Silva on Sergio Aguero. de Silva gets a yellow card. Messi though, shoots the ball over goal.
27' GOAL! This is too easy, way too easy for Argentina! This time it is Pastore. The PSG midfielder finds a a lot of space on the edge of the box following a brilliant ball in from Messi, before rifling a wonderful strike inside the left-hand post!
Another assist by Messi, who has now provided 29 assists in 102 games with @Argentina http://t.co/nbR7oU3Z4z #chile2015
— MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) June 30, 2015
25' Rojo now prevents a goal from Delis Gonzalez with a brilliant challenge. Gonzalez though seemed to have gone down hard. He is being taken off temporarily.
22' Pastore almost makes it 2-0! Messi with a nice run through the middle as the Paraguay defence attempts to close him down. He still manages to make a beautiful pass to Pastore, whose final ball is just blocked by a diving Paraguayan keeper!
21' Yet another foul by Argentina results in another free kick but again, the ball in is poor and easily cleared.
20' A Paraguay free kick is blocked by the Argentine walls and then cleared right into the Paraguayan half.
19' A fight for possession now in the midfield, but the stadium is alight with singing Argentines, and Argentina look far the more confident side.
16' Paraguay almost immediately furnish a counter attack through some good passing, but the final cross is then shot over the left of the goal.
Well that didn't take long, #ARG Goal! #CopaAmerica
— Aberrant Viso (@AberrantViso) June 30, 2015
15' GOAL! The Messi free kick is intercepted by Rojo, who misses with the first touch but then connects neatly with the second to send the ball into the goal.
13' Two more yellow cards are pulled out. Biglia gets one, and Victor Caceres another, for a tackle on Di Maria, who is now in apparent pain. Not sure what Biglia did though.
12' Rojo gets a yellow card for a tackle, and its a free kick to Paraguay.
9' Paraguay continue to push forward and make continual attacks into the Argentine third. This game has assumed a high tempo just like the previous semifinal.
6' Now a Paraguayan foray into the Argentine third courtesy captain Santa Cruz. However, his final ball is just wide of goal to the left!
5' A through ball for Di Maria is tackled by the Paraguay defence successfully.
3' Paraguay get a free kick but the ball in is a little too long and the opportunity is lost.
2' The Argentine defence deals adequately with a Paraguay attack inside their third, and then Pastorre clears.
2' Immediately Argentina retake possession and start to advance down the Paraguayan half, but a tackle then results in a throw for Argentina.
1' Paraguay kick us off in the semifinal.
We are ready for kick off. Garay has been replaced by Demichelis for Argentina, as the former has taken ill.
The Argentine fans far outnumber the Paraguay fans as the teams head out and the national anthems are about to be sung.
Here are the lineups for the game:
Lineups are out for #ARG v #PAR with kick-off to follow - catch the build-up LIVE! #Chile2015 http://t.co/wifX1OU35D pic.twitter.com/tt3JcSlBQu
— Copa América 2015 (@ca2015_en) June 30, 2015
Welcome to the LIVE coverage of the second semifinal of the Copa America 2015, featuring Argentina and Paraguay. The match begins at 5 am IST.
Argentina are the favourites to not just win this semifinal, but also the final against Chile. However, reputations don't always correspond with results. Argentina have played well under potential this Copa America, scoring just four goals in normal time. In the quarterfinal, Argentina fought Colombia to a 0-0 draw in normal time before winning 5-4 on penalties in sudden death.
Though Argentina have held greater possession in all their games and dominated their opponents, looking consistently dangerous in the final third, they have failed to convert this into enough goals - and subsequently convincing victories. Their backline also remains susceptible, with Paraguay coming back from a 0-2 deficit in the league game between the two teams, to level the scoreline 2-2 at the final whistle.
That draw embarrassed Argentina and should play on their minds when they take on Paraguay in this semifinal.
Paraguay on the other hand are firm underdogs and would once again like to stun their far mightier opponents, who seem prone to panic especially in the final moments of a game. They have performed better than expectations, drawing 2-2 against Argentina and 1-1 against Uruguay, while beating lowly Jamaica 1-0. In the quarterfinals, Paraguay held Brazil to 1-1 in normal time and then won on penalties.
Here's the match preview for this semifinal.
Twitter meanwhile is already abuzz with talk of the quarterfinal. Can Argentina take one step closer to winning this tournament after 22 years?
