The Hindu : Sport / Football : Figueroa figures in Argentina's win

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 15, 2004

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Sport - Football

Figueroa figures in Argentina's win

PIURA (PERU), JULY 14. Argentina beat Uruguay 4-2 in the Copa America's most storied rivalry on Tuesday and set up the first confirmed quarterfinal against tournament host Peru.

Mexico eliminated Ecuador 2-1 in the first match at Miguel Grau Stadium, and its reward for winning Group `B' will be a weekend quarterfinal against either Brazil or Paraguay, which meet on Wednesday.

Mexico won the group with seven points from three games, followed by Argentina with six points, Uruguay four and Ecuador zero.

Uruguay had already qualified before playing Argentina, and will be seeded as one of the two best third-place teams, to play either Colombia, Brazil or Paraguay.

Ecuador's loss advanced Argentina before it kicked off, and the Argentines celebrated by defeating Uruguay, which played the last 55 minutes down a man after Joe Bizera was ejected for his second yellow card.

Last-minute starter Luciano Figueroa scored twice, in the 20th and 89th minutes, and Cristian Gonzalez and Roberto Ayala also scored for Argentina, while goals by Fabian Estoyanoff and Vicente Sanchez helped Uruguay to level at 2-2 three minutes after it lost Bizera.

Uruguay coach Jorge Fossati described Argentina as the Copa's team to beat.

``Without disrespecting anyone, I have to say today we faced the toughest team in the tournament, in terms of individuals and team play,'' Fossati said. ``Whoever we face in the next round will not be as strong as they are.''

Argentina's victory evened its Copa record against Uruguay at 13 wins each plus three draws, and delayed Uruguay from joining Argentina as the only nations to win 100 Copa matches.

The pair has each won 14 titles, and met in 13 finals, and the first half shaped up to be another classic, but the second half was tarnished by too many rough tackles.

Estoyanoff gave Uruguay a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute with a 25-metre volley which surprised goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri. Estoyanoff got off his long-range shot after Figueroa's header failed to clear the ball from the penalty area.

In the 19th, referee Ruben Selman awarded a penalty after Uruguay's Marcelo Sosa took down Cesar Delgado as he turned on goal. Cristian Gonzalez's penalty kick narrowly beat 'keeper Luis Barbat to equalise.

Less than a minute later, Argentina went up 2-1 after Barbat struggled to save a shot by Luis Gonzalez, allowing Figueroa to pick up a loose ball and score.

Moments after Bizera was sent off for pushing the referee, Sanchez levelled the score with another long-distance bomb.

It took Argentina more than 40 minutes to break the deadlock, when finally Ayala outleaped two defenders to head in for 3-2.

Figueroa scored his second 10 minutes later in the 89th, justifying his last-minute start in place of Javier Saviola, who complained of a muscular pain. Saviola, the tournament's co-leading scorer with three goals, eventually appeared in the second half.

``Having a game like this is a dream come true,'' said Figueroa, a star of Argentina's Olympic-bound under-23 team.

In the first match, veteran forward Adolfo Bautista scored and drew a penalty as Mexico beat Ecuador 2-1.

Hector Altamarino converted the penalty in the 27th, Bautista added his in the 42nd, and Agustin Delgado got one goal back for Ecuador in the 71st.

``We have to concentrate more to ensure we put away games like these,'' Bautista said. ``We had plenty of scoring opportunities but the team relaxed a bit.''

``Bofo'' Bautista featured in the highlights of the first half, in which Ecuador failed to trouble Mexico goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Bautista was tripped by Ecuador 'keeper Jacinto Espinoza and drew the penalty which Altamarino slotted in off the left post.

Bautista, unmarked and on the run, then took a long pass from Duilio Davino and powered a 20-metre shot past Espinoza for 2-0, and in injury time he was yellow-carded for a reckless kick at Espinoza, who injured his right hand and had to be replaced in goal by Damian Lanza.

After the break, Mexico was content to cruise, and Ecuador cut the deficit in half when Delgado met a short cross from replacement Franklin Salas and headed in between two defenders and past Sanchez. Delgado scored two of Ecuador's three goals in the tournament, and the team goes home after three losses.

``Neither Mexico nor Uruguay was superior to Ecuador. They didn't absolutely dominate us,'' Ecuador coach Hernan Gomez said. ``But we got off to a bad start even before the tournament and we paid for it here. At this Copa, I have learned what not to do. For the qualifying rounds, we have to make some changes, particularly in our pre-game preparation and be more serious in our training.''

Mexico had already qualified, and didn't play with the intensity of its 1-0 must-win against Argentina last Saturday. Coach Ricardo Lavolpe also played safe by not playing four regulars who had been issued yellow cards: Rafael Marquez, Pavel Pardo, Ricardo Osorio and Salvador Carmona. — AP

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