In a bidding match against Argentina and Uruguay in Santa Fe, the host team could not perform to qualify for the semi final round. Argentina had been in the waiting for a breakthrough for 20 years now and with last match’s results, they will have to wait yet more.
Host Team out of Copa America
The win was handed over to Uruguay in the penalty shootout by Fernando Muslera. Carlos Tévez missed a penalty shootout earlier, which proved costly for the team. It has been a dry time for Tévez for some time now. The final score was 5-4.
Argentina was hoping to actually win the league this time and much of their confidence resided in Lionel Messi. While Messi did have some good moments on the field, it was not enough to qualify Argentina for the semi finals.
Diego Perez gave Uruguay the lead after the 6th minute as he scored the first goal but Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina evened the score at the 18th minute after that. At the 39th minute, Perez got his second yellow card but there was Muslera to the rescue who, along with the defending players, gave a lift to Uruguay during which their strength grew when the Argentina Captain was sent off in the 89th minute after which the team tumbled down.
Muslera expressed his excitement after the game ended saying that they were one step closer to their goal and they hoped to win this tournament. He also said that according to him, this was one of the best matches that he played. “This team deserves the win” and that the penalty was just a matter of luck. The team would have won even otherwise. While the people of Uruguay celebrated the win ecstatically, Argentina was disappointed with the result. It was in such extent that the newspapers, right after the match, started printing headlines such as “National Failure”.
Argentina’s performance in the earlier games had not been very convincing and Uruguay finally ended the competition for them. On the other hand, it is expected that Uruguay will make it to the finals this time. This final would then be, one after 1999 for them.
The semi finals will have Uruguay and Chile who will play on Tuesday where Sunday’s game will have Brazil and Paraguay against each other.
The betting has already started amongst the fans as to which team is bound to win the Copa America and in a matter of a couple games, the celebrations will break out.
Tags: Argentina, Carlos Tevez, Copa America, Fernando Muslera, Football, Lionel Messi, Santa Fe, Uruguay
