At 8 o'clock on June 30, Beijing time, in the third round of Group A of the 2024 Copa America group stage, Argentina played against Peru.
Neither side achieved anything in the first half, but in the second half, Lautaro Martinez scored with a blitz, although Tagliafico's goal was invalidated, Paredes hit the post with a penalty, and Lautaro Martinez took advantage of the opponent's mistake to score another goal, and finally Argentina beat Peru 2-0, winning all three games in the group stage, and qualified as the group leader, and will face the second team in Group B in the quarter-finals.
In the previous two rounds of the group stage, the Argentine team has won two consecutive victories and qualified ahead of schedule. In this game, the Argentine team adopted a rotation strategy, with Messi, Alvarez, De Paul, Enzo Fernandez and other main players resting in rotation and not appearing in the starting lineup.
In the 7th minute, Argentina won a set-piece on the right side of the front, Di Maria passed into the penalty area, but the goalkeeper blocked the ball from the bottom line. In the 22nd minute, Lautaro Martinez had a one-on-one chance, but it was offside. In the 26th minute, Paredes took a set-piece at the top of the penalty area, which was saved by goalkeeper Galese.
In the 40th minute, Di Maria cut inside with the ball and shot at the goal, which was picked up by Galesse. In the 45th minute, Lo Celso received a cross from the penalty spot, the tackle was saved, and Garnacho's follow-up shot was missed. At the end of the first half, both teams went into the break 0-0.
In the 47th minute of the second half, Di Maria picked up a pass from the edge of the penalty area, and Lautaro Martinez scored after winning the ball, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead. In the 54th minute, Argentina drove a corner kick from the left into the penalty area, and Tagliafico scored with a cushion, but the goal was invalidated due to interference with the goalkeeper.
In the 72nd minute, Montiel created a handball and Paredes hit the post with a penalty. In the 86th minute, Peru made a mistake at the back, and Lautaro Martinez scored with a pick, giving Argentina a 2-0 lead. In the end, Argentina defeated Peru 2-0, won all three games in the group stage, and advanced to the quarterfinals as the group leader.
Line-ups: Argentina: Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Paredes, Lo Celso, Garnacho, Tagliafico, Montiel, etc. Peru: goalkeeper Galese, etc.
With this victory, Argentina successfully advanced to the quarterfinals as the group winner. They will face the second-placed team in Group B in the next match, which will be a more intense and crucial matchup. Argentina's performance in the group stage showed their overall strength and competitiveness, but in the upcoming games, they will need to pay more attention to the solidity of the defensive end and the efficiency of the offensive end.
Lautaro Martinez's excellent performance injected a strong attacking firepower into the Argentine team, while the positive performance of the rotation players also provided the manager with more tactical options. Looking ahead to the quarter-finals, Argentina will need to continue to maintain high morale and excellent form to achieve better results in the next matches.
Despite their excellent performance in the group stage, there are still doubts about whether Argentina will be able to maintain that form against stronger opponents. The manager's rotation strategy was a success in this game, but it will be interesting to see if there will be a significant rotation in the knockout stages.
In addition, despite Argentina's strong performance in the group stage, the defensive stability and the ability to take chances on the offensive end still need to be improved. These issues can be magnified against stronger opponents. Therefore, the Argentine team needs to constantly adjust and optimize in the next training and matches to meet the greater challenges.
Overall, Argentina have shown great strength and excellent form in the group stage of this Copa America, but they will need to be more focused and hard working in the next knockout stage if they can continue to move forward and strive for higher honours.