At 8:00 a.m. Beijing time on June 30, the third round of Group A of the 2024 Copa America group stage kicked off at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, with Argentina and Peru battling it out for the top spot in the group. Mexican referee Cesar Ramos strictly enforced the law to ensure the game was fair and equitable.
At the beginning of the first half, the two teams showed a very high level of competitiveness, with a rapid transition between offense and defense, and a stalemate on the field. The Argentinean team, with its delicate footwork and tacit teamwork, kept launching attacks on the Peruvian team's hinterland. Among them, Paredes' free kick was a powerful attack on the goal, but unfortunately, Peru's goalkeeper, Galaise, parried it out to keep the goal intact. Later on, Lo Celso's aggressive play earned Argentina an excellent chance to shoot, but his shot was also deflected by Gallese, and the two sides exchanged a scoreless draw in the first half.
At the change of possession, Argentina clearly stepped up their offense, eager to seal the top spot in the group with a win. In the 55th minute, Argentina's efforts were finally rewarded. Lautaro took a pass from a teammate in the penalty area, calmly shook off a defender and fired a low shot to break the deadlock for Argentina, making the score 1-0. Lautaro got more and more courageous after scoring, and just a few minutes later, he took advantage of the Peruvian defense's negligence again and scored in front of the goal, completing the second time to extend the score to 2-0.
With Lautaro's excellent play, Argentina's morale was boosted as they continued to pressure Peru, looking for more scoring opportunities. However, Peru did not give up their resistance and tried to get back into the game with their tenacious defense and occasional counterattacks. In the 70th minute, Argentina was awarded a penalty kick, but Paredes' penalty kick accidentally hit the post and bounced out, missing the chance to further increase the score.
Argentina's top player Lionel Messi did not play in this match, but his teammates still showed great strength and successfully took the game. With the final whistle blowing, Argentina beat Peru 2-0 and went out on top of Group A, winning all their group matches.
