By DPA
Caracas (Venezuela) : Argentina came from behind to beat the United States 4-1, while Paraguay thrashed Colombia 5-0 in Maracaibo in the Copa America football tournament.
The score obscured Argentina's lack of clarity on the pitch Thursday for much of its game against the United States. In fact, the tournament favourites appeared in for a shock like the one already delivered to archrival Brazil.
Only seven minutes into the match, Gabriel Milito pushed Eddie Johnson in the box, and Johnson himself put the United States ahead from the penalty spot.
Hernan Crespo made the most of confusion in the box following a free kick in the 11th minute to equalise before an empty goal.
After that, Argentina controlled the ball but did not create many chances until the last 30 minutes.
In the 63rd minute, Barcelona's Lionel Messi assisted Crespo, and the world-class striker scored with a good, right-footed shot.
The 2-1 score took the pressure off Argentina, and in the 77th minute a Gabriel Heinze cross from the left was headed home by substitute Pablo Aimar. Six minutes before time, another substitute, Carlos Tevez, received a pass from Juan Roman Riquelme and netted the ball before Casey Keller.
The score was probably too harsh on the United States, but the outcome boosts Argentina's expectations of reaching the July 15 final and continues to feed the impressive scoring trend in the tournament, with 24 goals in only six games.
Earlier Thursday, Paraguay efficiently destroyed Colombia, with Roque Santa Cruz as the star.
Things could have been different, as Colombia had an opportunity to pull ahead in the 27th minute. From the penalty spot, Alvaro Dominguez wasted the chance with a soft shot that gave no trouble to Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar.
Only three minutes later, Santa Cruz showed no mercy for Colombia as he made it 1-0. The Bayern Munich striker was the star of the match, as he scored again in the 46th and 79th minutes.
Paraguay's Argentine coach Gerardo Martino preserved Santa Cruz and took him off the pitch before the end, but Salvador Cabanas took over the attack. Cabanas was on target six minutes before time and again in the 87th minute.
"We are very happy about the result. You don't score three goals every day, but more than the goals it's important that the team won, and that is crucial to seek qualification to the quarterfinals," Santa Cruz said.
Colombia showed very poor defending and few attacking ideas on its way to the 5-0 defeat. Colombia coach Jorge Luis Pinto apologised for his team's performance.
"When you lose like this there are many things to talk about among us. However, everything is not lost. We have to recover the winning mentality, we have to lift our spirits. We think we can advance (in the tournament)," Pinto said in a press conference.
Argentina is set to play Colombia Monday, while Paraguay will face the United States.