Ramon Diaz Can Be Proud of Paraguay Despite Argentina and Lionel Messi Mauling

By the end, it bordered on a joke. Angel Di Maria struck twice, Marcos Rojo once, Javier Pastore once, Sergio Aguero once and Gonzalo Higuain once.

But Argentina's 6-1 victory over Paraguay was plotted and executed by a player who didn't score and didn't care much about that, either.

There is no shame in being taken to pieces by Lionel Messi. The finest player on the planet, probably the best there ever was.

That is how Paraguay were dismantled on a freezing cold night in Chile's second city, with the Copa America hosts watching on nervously ahead of Saturday's showdown in Santiago.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

Yes, the final will be Argentina against Chile, the two best teams at this tournament facing off in La Roja's national stadium, but before that titanic clash, there must be time to salute those who tried hard, worked smartly yet were still beaten in the end.

Peru went down in the first semi-final thanks to a slightly unfortunate red card and a wonder goal by Eduardo Vargas. They will play Ramon Diaz's Paraguay in the third-place play-off, here in Concepcion, after Messi put paid to La Albirroja.

By the time the Barcelona star was stacking Pablo Aguilar and Bruno Valdez on top of each other with a nutmeg, ahead of the fourth Argentina goal, converted by Angel Di Maria, the jig was up.

Silvia Izquierdo/Associated Press

For a while it seemed like Paraguay might manage to stun the South America giants, as they did in the first match between these two sides at this tournament. Goals from Aguero and Messi had put Argentina two up, but Nelson Valdez and Lucas Barrios struck back to earn Paraguay a point as both teams kicked off their Copa America campaigns.

Four games on, with Paraguay left smoldering in a heap after this brutal savaging by Argentina, the sides are in very different places.

But when Barrios rammed home a strike from the edge of the box to give Paraguay hope before half-time, reducing the deficit in the semi-final to just 2-1, you believed they could do it.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

After all, they came from behind against not only Argentina before, but Uruguay and Brazil too.

Derlis Gonzalez scored from the spot to level against the Selecao in the quarter-finals and netted the winning penalty in the subsequent shootout to get Paraguay to this stage of the competition.

But he was substituted after sustaining a first-half injury, which was a huge blow to Paraguay. His running on the right had scared Rojo in the early exchanges of this game.

If the finishing of Raul Bobadilla had been better, Paraguay might have equalised before half-time, while Roque Santa Cruz also spurned a wonderful first-half chance.

Andre Penner/Associated Press

Overall, this has been a strong tournament by Paraguay, runners-up in 2011.

They were unbeaten in the group and deserved to see off Brazil in the last quarter-final. Perhaps, with an extra day's rest, they might have been able to deflect the Argentine onslaught a little longer.

Then again, few can deflect Messi when he is at his magisterial best. And he was here, creating three assists, but playing his part in the other goals too.

However well Diaz has drilled his players, and it is very well, there is no compensating when Messi is able to perform like this.