MATCH 10 REPORT : MEXICO BEAT ARGENTINA 1-NIL

Mexico overcome Argentina with a textbook free-kick by Ramon Morales on 8 minutes and raise the temperature in Group B of Copa America. Mexico and Uruguay share top spot with 4 points and with only one more round to go in the first fase, Argentina are third, on 3 points and have to beat rivals Uruguay in the last fixture, on the 13th, to qualify.

Argentineans realized early on that they wouldn´t have another stroll in the park. 8 minutes after kick-off, Ramon Morales found the upper corner with a perfectly taken free-kick and opened the account for Mexico. Although striker Javier Saviola, the star of the match against Ecuador, was well-marked, Argentina created a few goal-scoring chances, but were unable to capitalize. The match carried on with Mexico defending themselves and trying to break on the counter until the interval.

In the second half, Marcelo Bielsa´s side returned with more determination and pinned Mexico in their own half. They created their best chances through Ayala and Sorin, with headers, but keeper Sanchez was equal to the task. In the meantime, Mexico defended well, the standout being defender Rafael Marquez, and all the Argentineans could do was protest against Brazilian referee Marcio Rezende de Freitas as they watched Mexico secure their first win in the competition.

Argentina: Roberto Abbondanzieri, Javier Zanetti, Roberto Ayala, Gabriel Heinze, Juan Pablo Sorín, Luis González (Carlos Tevez 21´/2), Javier Mascherano, Andrés D´Alessandro, Cesar Delgado (Mauro Rosales 21´/2), Javier Saviola and "Killy" González Coach: Marcelo Bielsa.

Mexico: Oswaldo Javier Sánchez, Gabriel Omar Briseño (Octavio Valdéz 30´/2), Rafael Marquez,Duilio César Davino, Gerardo Torrado, Pavel Pardo, Jared Borgetti (Daniel Osorno), Ramón Morales (Héctor Altamirano), Salvador Carmona, Ricardo Osorio and José de Jesús Arellano. Coach: Ricardo Lavolpe.

Venue: Chiclayo, Peru

Referee: Márcio Rezende de Freitas - Brazil

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