Off the wire
• Australian killed fighting against Islamic State: family  • China, France prioritize partnership in industry, energy, third-party markets  • China seeks to advance growth in defense, security cooperation among SCO member states  • Interior ministers of Austrian, Hungarian and Serbian agree to cooperate on immigration  • Bolt withdraws from Diamond League Paris meeting  • Ivo Ilicevic signs contract extension with Hamburg  • Usain Bolt withdraws from Diamond League meetings with leg injury  • Eintracht Frankfurt sign Twente Enschede's Luc Castaignos  • U.S. Ex-Im Bank's charter to expire after midnight Tuesday  • Blatter not to attend Women's World Cup final  
You are here: 　 Home

Argentina and Paraguay decide Chile's opponent in final

Xinhua, July 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Argentina and Paraguay will decide the second Copa America 2015 finalist during their match on Tuesday in Chile.

The teams already faced each other in the group stages where the match ended in a 2-2 draw in Group B. Paraguay had been 2-0 down at the end of the first half but Ramon Diaz' team managed to pull it back in the second half.

Argentina come into the semifinals after eliminating Colombia 5-4 in penalties after a goal-less draw after 90 minutes.

Gerardo Martino's side played their best football against Colombia but it didn't translate to goals which is something that Argentina has been lacking in the whole tournament. The South American side have only scored four goals in as many matches (not including the penalties against Colombia).

Forwards Lionel Messi (from a penalty), Sergio Aguero (with two) and Gonzalo Higuain are Argentina's only goalscorers of the tournament.

On the other hand, Argentina's defence has been solid only conceding two goals (in their first match against Paraguay). Since the Paraguay match, Argentina have played for a total of 270 minutes without allowing a single goal to enter their net.

Paraguay qualified for the semifinals after eliminating Brazil also from penalties (4-3) after drawing 1-1 during the match.

Diaz' team are looking to repeat their success from four years ago which took them to the finals of the Copa America Argentina in 2011 against eventual winners and neighbours Uruguay.

Among the teams absent players, midfielder Nestor Ortigoza is still nursing an injury and therefore Eduardo Aranda will feature once again in the starting 11 after his stellar performance against Brazil on Saturday.

Coach Diaz will also have to decide whether to slot left-winger Miguel Samudio and midfielder Richard Ortiz back into the starting 11 after they missed the quarter-finals due to injury and a suspension respectively. Ivan Piris and Derlis Gonzalez who replaced the players against Brazil both had a good match.

Kick-off will be at 20:30 local time (23:30 GMT) at the Ester Roa Stadium in the city of Concepcion, Chile. Enditem