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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Liam Prenderville

Sergio Aguero keeps Argentina's Copa America hopes alive with strike against Qatar

Argentina kept their Copa America hopes alive with a 2-0 victory over Qatar.

Lautaro Martinez and Sergio Aguero got the goals for Argentina, who will now take on Venezuela in the quarter-finals.

The South American side had one point from their first two matches but took an early lead as Martinez capitalised on some shoddy defending.

They had to wait until eight minutes from time to be sure of the points as Manchester City star Aguero picked up the ball from deep before firing in from a tight angle.

Skipper Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night but Argentina managed to secure victory despite the below-par performance.

Argentina's Lautaro Martinez celebrates (AFP/Getty Images)
Lionel Messi of Argentina fights for the ball (Getty Images)

A woeful pass out of defence gifted Martinez the opener and the Inter Milan striker made no mistake as he fired into the net.

Argentina had multiple chances to double their lead with Aguero and Messi both failing to find the net.

And they were nearly caught out right before half tie when Qatar hit the post with a free-kick.

Lionel Messi of Argentina gestures (Getty Images)

Qatar pushed forward as they chased a leveller before Messi blazed over from inside the area.

The Qatar defenders appeared to stop after a foul on Aguero but play was waved on, only for Messi to miss the target.

Argentina did make sure of the victory through City star Aguero as he lashed home from the angle.

Argentina's Sergio Aguero scores (REUTERS)
Argentina's Sergio Aguero celebrates (AFP/Getty Images)

Elsewhere in Group B, Colombia enjoyed a 1-0 win over Paraguay despite making wholesale changes.

Gustavo Cuellar put Colombia ahead just after the half-hour mark while Luis Diaz had a second ruled out by VAR.

Colombia go through as group winners while Paraguay could yet progress as the best third-placed team.

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