Messi calls on Argentina to pick up pace ahead of Copa quarter

Sport360 staff 10:40 22/06/2015
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  • Messi has warned Argentina to raise the intensity.

    Lionel Messi has warned his Argentina team-mates to pick up the pace or face being knocked out of the Copa America. 

    Gonzalo Higuain’s solitary goal saw the 14-time champions secure their progression to the quarter-finals top of Group B with a 1-0 win over Jamaica.

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    But despite dominating the Caribbean side from the first whistle, they were unable to build on their 11th-minute lead and their skipper has called for improvement with Colombia next up. 

    “In the second half our pace dropped, we played much slower,” said Messi, who was making his 100th appearance for his country.

    “We did the same against Paraguay. We struggled to find spaces, the pitch was slower… I do not know why, but it is true that we ran slower.

    “In the knockout matches we can’t let that happen again.”

    Sluggish second-half showings are becoming a concern for Argentina, who threw away a two-goal half-time lead against Paraguay in their Copa America opener last week to draw 2-2.

    Ahead of Friday’s game, coach Gerardo Martino conceded his players may well be feeling the toll of a gruelling domestic season and echoed Messi’s sentiments after victory over the Reggae Boyz.

    “We struggled to find spaces… in the knockout matches we can’t let that happen” – Messi

    “The first half was okay. We played fine and we scored quickly and created five or six chances to score,” Martino said. “At the end though it was a bit tedious but we did what was necessary. Physically we struggled in the second half.”

    “Chile are playing very well, and Colombia showed against Brazil that they are also a candidate,” 
    added Messi. “Every opponent will be difficult.”

    Elsewhere, holders Uruguay made sure of their place in the Copa America quarter-finals after battling to a 1-1 draw with Paraguay in a rematch of the 2011 final.

    Uruguay secured the point they needed to advance to the last eight from Group B after taking the lead through Jose Maria Gimenez before Paraguay equalised through Lucas Barrios.

    Paraguay were already guaranteed a place in the knockout stages after results elsewhere, when Ecuador’s win over Mexico in Group A ensured they would qualify.

    Uruguay, beaten by Argentina in their second match, took the lead after 29 minutes through Gime-nez, who rose high to meet a corner  with a powerful downward header.

    But Paraguay hit back with a set-piece goal of their own, as Barrios timed his run to perfection and outmuscled Gimenez to send a thumping header home from a corner.

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