Despite the absence of both superstar Lionel Messi and head coach Scaloni in the final match of the group stage, the Argentina team still showed superior strength against Peru.
Messi did not play, Argentina still flourished with a winning record
Not only Lionel Messi, Argentina also does not have head coach Lionel Scaloni due to being banned from directing. However, Argentina soon passed the group stage, so they only played the match against Peru with the B squad to preserve the strength of the pillars, but the defending champions still proved to be superior in terms of squad quality.
Most of Argentina’s opportunities come from fixed situations. During the first half, Peru goalkeeper Gallese had to work hard to save free kicks from Argentina’s stars.
The excellence of the Peruvian goalkeeper was also the reason why the first half ended without a goal. However, just 1 minute after the second half started, things became too difficult for Peru, Argentina had an impressive coordination situation. Di Maria made a one-touch pass for Lautaro to run down and chip the ball past Gallese to open the score.
In the 55th minute, Tagliafico seemed to have scored Argentina’s second goal but the referee flagged Lo Celso offside. Peru had to wait until the 67th minute for their first clear chance but Marcos Lopez’s long-range shot was not beaten by Emiliano Martinez. Two minutes later, they were awarded a penalty after Castillo handled the ball from Montiel’s cross.
However, Paredes’ shot hit the post from 11m away. However, the second goal still came for the defending champions. In the 86th minute, Lautaro Martinez shone again with a classy move that brought a 2-0 victory to Argentina. Thus, Argentina won all the group stage matches and they are ready to challenge all opponents in the upcoming knockout round.
In the match taking place at the same time, Canada only needs to not lose and Peru not win against Argentina to advance, while Chile must win 3 points to pass the group stage. However, these two teams proved to be too deadlocked and ended the 90 minutes with a 0-0 draw. This score was enough for Canada to pass the group stage of a Copa America for the first time, while Chile was disappointed when they were eliminated with only 2 points.
