Each of the Copa America semi-finalists won their quarterfinal with ease, and while Argentina may not won by the greatest margin, its 4-0 second half flattening of Peru solidified the Albiocelestes’ standing as tournament favorites. The scary thing, as Peru coach Julio Cesar Uribe said after the match, is that Peru didn’t play badly, unlike the other losing quarterfinalists. “The result says what happened,” he said flatly. “Argentina had the variations and superior talent. We gave it our best effort but we were well and truly beaten. It’s part of football.”
“It’s not just about winning,” Argentina’s Alfio Basile said afterwards, sounding like a Brazilian coach. “You can simply win a game, but to win the way we are doing makes me proud.”
After a tense and frustrating first-half, Juan Roman Riquelme opened the floodgates two minutes into the second, playing a series of one-twos with Carlos Tevez, who replaced the ineffective Diego Milito after the break. Riquelme’s unstoppable left-footed drive was a sign of things to come. Fifteen minutes later, Riquelme, with a typically languid touch past his defender, threaded an incisive pass between four Peruvians into space for Lionel Messi to easily slot home. In full control now, Argentina effectively killed the match, holding onto possession effortlessly, while Riquelme floated around in search of pockets of space. Javier Mascherano tucked home a third thanks to some brilliant combination play from Tevez and Messi. Riquelme completed his brace five minutes from time.