Argentina Improving but Need Better Marksmanship to Take Home Copa America

While the best team undoubtedly won on the night, few could understand why Argentina had to resort to the lottery of the penalty shootout to finally take down Colombia in the Copa America quarter-finals. With just two games standing in the way of victory, solving their goal woes will be key if the Albiceleste are to take the trophy home.

Rarely has a game between two apparently well-matched sides been quite so one-sided. Argentina took the quarter-final to Jose Pekerman's men for the entire 90 minutes, peppering the Cafetero net with chances. A sole header from Jackson Martinez more than an hour in was the first and only time Sergio Romero was tested before the shootout.

Yet it was still mission accomplished for Colombia. Somehow, mainly thanks to goalkeeper David Ospina and Mexican referee Roberto Garcia Orozco's refusal to give a pair of strong penalty shouts, the side survived to reach the end of the game intact. On another day, despite putting in what was without question their best performance of the entire competition, Lionel Messi's men could have been on their way back to Buenos Aires. 

Ricardo Mazalan/Associated Press

The issue was the same as it was in the last two games of Group B. With the likes of Messi, Javier Pastore and Javier Mascherano controlling the ball from the Argentina penalty area onward, there was once more a suffocating domination of possession and territory. Nor was there any problem creating chances. But for some reason, those opportunities, against Uruguay, Jamaica and now Colombia, are refusing to fall.

It is a perplexing situation. In La Pulga and strike partner Sergio Aguero, the Albiceleste boast a duo that netted an incredible 90 goals over the course of the 2014/15 season. On the bench sits Carlos Tevez, the scorer of 29 last season for Juventus, which is the same tally racked up by fellow substitute Gonzalo Higuain. These are players of the highest quality, who have so far not managed to deliver the same marksmanship in Chile. 

The double save made by Ospina was a perfect example of the malaise. It was admittedly a wonderful moment for the goalkeeper, who really should have taken man of the match over Messi for his efforts in the quarter-final. Nevertheless, both Aguero's instinctive hit under the crossbar and the follow-up header from his captain are chances each player converts for fun in club colours. In Argentina, on the other hand, Messi passed the dubious milestone of 800 competitive minutes without hitting the target from open play.

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800 ― Messi has now gone 800 minutes without a goal from open play in competitive games for Argentina pic.twitter.com/pjQxgZxjiY

— MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) June 27, 2015"

"I would have liked to have scored a goal, but the important thing is that we won," the four-time Ballon d'Or winner confessed to the Barcelona official website. For a player who has always put team success first, that was a telling moment of sincerity.

"While we were lucky with the penalties, we deserved to go through based on what we did over the full 90 minutes," he added. Team-mate Javier Mascherano shared his disbelief: "We tried scoring in every possible way." 

With two goals so far, Aguero has had slightly better luck, but the Manchester City man could easily have double that total at this point in proceedings. Even Higuain should have walked away with a hat-trick from the win over Jamaica, but some desperate misfortune in front of the net meant his opener proved to be the only difference between the teams.

It should be pointed out that those entrusted with tucking away the torrent of Albiceleste chances are not the only ones responsible. The win over Colombia represented a wholesale improvement for the nation over an uneven group stage, particularly with respect to the concentration and intensity shown in the second half. But it is not unfair to point out that for all their control and creativity, Argentina are still not at their peak in offensive movement.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

Messi and Pastore too often fight for the same position three-quarters of the way down the pitch, when the former should be far more advanced. Out wide, meanwhile, Angel Di Maria looks a shadow of the star who brought home La Decima for Real Madrid and continually squanders promising openings with a substandard final ball. It is coach Gerardo Martino's biggest dilemma: Take Di Maria out of the attack, and Argentina lose their only real game-breaking runner. 

If the Manchester United player is pushed back to midfield, however, that would almost certainly mean Pastore would return to the bench, robbing the Albiceleste of a creative force in the engine room. And playing both Fideo and the PSG man with three strikers ahead would be suicide in the latter stages of a major tournament. Martino will have to keep faith with his errant charge with the hope that, similar to the World Cup before his unfortunate injury, the winger can raise his game at the decisive moment. 

Argentina are on the right track. But with a galvanised, unbeaten Paraguay on the horizon, those charged with putting the ball into the back of the net have no margin for error. Chances will be few and far between in the semi, and it is time to take advantage if the Albiceleste wish to march on to glory on the other side of the Andes.