Gomez steals the show in Messi’s record appearance

Argentina and Chile on Monday booked their places in the Copa America quarter-finals, ending top of Group A after low-scoring matches that left the other two spots up for grabs.

Argentina logged its second win in three group matches played, beating Paraguay 1-0, with Alejandro "Papu" Gomez scoring the sole goal of a lacklustre match in Brasilia in the ninth minute.

The win placed Lionel Messi's La Albiceleste top of Group A with seven points -- enough to secure its spot in the next phase of the tournament being played in empty stadiums in coronavirus-battered Brazil.

It was not a night of glory for Messi or his team, who in the second half seemed to resign themselves to defending a spirited, but ultimately fruitless, Paraguayan attack. In the other match Monday, Chile drew 1-1 with Uruguay to end the day with five log points.

With four matches left to play in Group A, Paraguay has three points, Uruguay one, and Bolivia zero, meaning they all still stand a theoretical chance to go to the quarter-finals.

Brazil, who will take on Colombia on Thursday at 6am (Bangladesh Time) in their next match, has already qualified from Group B.

The victory over Paraguay in Brasilia took Argentina through to the quarter-finals with a game to spare and Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni admitted the time might be right to rest his star man.

"It's possible that we will rotate in the next game," he said of next Tuesday's final group game against Bolivia (6am, Bangladesh Time). "Having qualified gives us some peace of mind. Now we can recharge our batteries and our strength."

HIGHLIGHTS

• Lionel Messi equalled Javier Mascherano's record as the player with the most caps for Argentina (147). In addition, he has now played 100 competitive matches for the Albiceleste.

• Argentina stretch their unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions (9 wins, 7 draws). They have not lost since an 0-2 defeat to Brazil in the Copa America 2019.

•Argentina beat Paraguay for the first time in four competitive games (3 draws, 1 loss). The previous Albiceleste victory came in the semifinal of the 2015 Copa America.