Copa America Femenina: Argentina’s Late Goal Edges Peru

In the third group stage game, Argentina and Peru battled against each other for a position to qualify for the knockout round of the Copa America Femenina. This was a battle of two sides that were hungry for points and trying to gain an advantage. But at the end of the entire 90 minutes, it would be the women of Argentina who would get the advantage as they got the victory by a final score of a goal to nil.

The only goal of the match came late in the second half. In the 88th minute, Argentina was attacking the Peruvian side of the pitch. As the ball was crossed from the far side and missed, Daiana Falfan tracked the ball down to keep it in play. She did a great job by reaching the ball, spinning and crossing it at the same time to the middle of the area, and right there, Yamila Rodriguez headed it inside the near post.

Inside second half stoppage time, Argentina earned a penalty. A poor challenge inside the Peruvian area forced the referee to blow her whistle and point to the spot. Florencia Bonsegundo went to the spot to take the penalty. Unfortunately she couldn’t convert as her shot hit the crossbar and bounced away. The Referee blew the final whistle, putting the game to an end.

There were no goals in the first half, but both goalkeepers in Solana Pereyra of Argentina and Maryory Sanchez of Peru, did a fantastic job of keeping the ball out of their nets and controlled their areas until the goal was scored by Argentina to wipe out a double clean sheet. Still, Sanchez made a fantastic diving grab to prevent a goal in the 64th minute at her near post. Pereyra made a stop and forced out a Peru attacker by using her right arm to shove her down and away.

Sadly, the only injury in the match came in the 85th minute when Peruvian defender Fabiola Herrera was stretchered off due to a very bad challenge defending her area. Hopefully, she will be able to recover quickly and return to the next match in the Copa América Femenina. But once again, Argentina showed why they are one of the strongest Women’s sides in South America, as they have been labelled as one of the favorites in this tournament.