Peru boosts Copa America hopes with win

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Chile and Uruguay confirmed on Friday they are contenders to win the Copa America.

For that matter, so did Peru, which is usually considered one of the also-ran teams in South America.

Alexis Sanchez, who has been linked to a move from Italian club Udinese to a number of top European clubs including Barcelona, scored the equalizer in Chile's 1-1 draw against Uruguay.

In the later Group C match, Paolo Guerrero scored a late goal to lift Peru over a second-string Mexico 1-0.

Chile, which reached the second round of the World Cup under Marcelo Bielsa, has a new coach in Claudio Borghi but is still playing the same kind of exciting football with most of the same players.

Uruguay did even better in South Africa, reaching the semifinals; the best performance of any Latin American team. They are also fielding most of the same talent, including star forwards Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, the latter of which set up Alvaro Pereira's 54th minute opener.

"Each of these teams showed they have possibilities in this tournament," Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said.

Chile and Peru each have 4 points, Uruguay has 2 and Mexico has 0. The group finishes on Tuesday when Chile plays Peru and Uruguay faces Mexico. The top two teams from each of the three groups will reach the quarterfinals, along with the two best third-placed teams.

Peru dominated the second half against Mexico but some sharp goalkeeping and narrow misses kept the game scoreless until Guerrero finally broke through in the 83rd minute.

After a lifeless first half, Peru had a half-dozen clear scoring chances in the second half but hit the post twice and saw several shots saved by outstanding Mexico goalkeeper Luis Michel.

"This team fights to the end," Peru defender Santiago Acasiete said. "We are growing and today was an important result."

Mexico and Costa Rica are playing mostly under-23 players in the tournament, as guest entries from the CONCACAF region. Friday's result left Mexico needing a win in its last game to have a chance of making the quarterfinals, but Costa Rica is in better shape.

Costa Rica will face under-pressure Argentina on Monday in Group A. Disappointing Argentina, the host nation, has only 2 points from two matches while Costa Rica has 3. Argentina has failed to deliver on its pre-tournament co-favoritism for the tournament along with Brazil, and must beat Costa Rica or is almost sure to go out.

It would be a major humiliation for an elite football nation like Argentina to not reaching the last eight as host, given it boasts some of the world's best football talent, led by Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

Everyone in Argentina is feeling the pressure heading into the last group game, particularly Messi who has long failed to translate his sparkling club form onto the international stage.

Messi's father, Jorge, said Friday his son was under "terrible pressure" and was upset when he and his teammates were booed off the pitch following Wednesday's 0-0 draw against Colombia.

"Leo is really down about this," his father said in an interview on Radio 10. "He can't understand how this happened. It's the first time they've whistled at him."

The Barcelona star was expected to help Argentina win its first major title in 18 years.

"Barcelona is another story," his father added. "It's a team that's been together for four years. The (Argentine) national team cannot match that. Playing in the Copa America at home in your own country is terrible pressure."

Argentina coach Sergio Batista is likely to start Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria up front for the game against Costa Rica, replacing Carlos Tevez, Ezequiel Lavezzi and either Ever Banega or Esteban Cambiasso.

Brazil was also poor in a 0-0 draw with Venezuela in its Group B opener. Brazil faces Paraguay on Saturday and coach Mano Menezes is also likely to make changes. Reports suggested Menezes will replace Robinho with Lucas up front, and Ramires with Elano at midfield.