Argentina is on to the semifinals at the 2019 Copa America subsequent to pulling out a 2-0 triumph over Venezuela in the quarterfinals Friday at Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
Lautaro Martinez led the path for Argentina, opening the scoring with a 10th-minute goal. Giovani Lo Celso included one in the 74th minute, while keeper Franco Armani recorded a clean sheet.
For the second consecutive match, Argentina utilized an early goal to establish control. What’s more, once again, Martinez gave the early boost.
He powered his side to its first triumph of the tournament Sunday with a fourth-minute goal against Qatar. He couldn’t strike as fast Friday, yet he managed to get on the board before Venezuela got an opportunity to settle in.
It denoted the 6th goal in 10 caps for the 21-year-old.
All the more critically for Argentina, however, his goal gave an early lead the team could never give up.
Venezuela barely held the edge in possession (51-49) during the opening half, however Argentina produced the most offense. Alongside the Martinez goal, La Albiceleste oversaw 11 shots, three of which were on goal, and seven corner kicks during the opening 45 or more minutes. In the mean time, Venezuela could just muster two shots, with none on target.
And keeping in mind that La Vinotinto attempted to make quality chances, it remained a one-goal issue profound into the second half. At last, however, Lo Celso figured out how to put the game away late, with the assistance of Venezuela keeper Wuilker Farinez.
Lionel Messi did not find the back of the net, however he tallied three shots.
In the wake of going 0-1-1 through its first two matches of the competition, Argentina has won consecutive games—each by the score of 2-0—to keep its title goals alive.
