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In the Confederations Cup, the second finalist was revealed - Argentina's national team, who defeated Mexico in a penalty shootout and secured a chance to compete for the tournament's title against Brazil on Wednesday.
Mexico 1 - 1 Argentina (penalties 5-6)
105' [1 - 0] Carlos Salcido
110' [1 - 1] Luciano Figueroa
90' Javier Pedro Saviola (Argentina), Rafael Marquez (Mexico) sent off
In a match dedicated to Marc Vivien-Foe, who passed away during the Confederations Cup two years ago, both teams exchanged dangerous attacks in the first half, with Argentina coming closest to scoring two minutes before the end, but G. Pineda cleared the ball after J. Sorin's attempt.
In the second half, after nine minutes, Mexico was unlucky as the naturalized Brazilian Zinha hit the crossbar with a great shot from 20 meters. Argentina soon attacked, but O. Sanchezas deflected F. Coloccini's header.
Both teams showed no mercy to their opponents, played tough, and received a red card each in the final minutes - first, J. Saviola fouled Pineda who no longer had the ball, and then R. Marquez earned a second yellow card for taking down P. Aimar. Interestingly, no player had been sent off the field in the tournament until then.
The main time of the rather dull match ended goalless, so extra time was played. In the first half of extra time, both teams focused on defense, but despite that, Mexico managed to take the lead in one counterattack - C. Salcido broke through the edge and his shot deflected off Coloccini's leg into the goal.
The second half started with an attack by Argentina, and in the very first minute, L. Figueroa missed a hundred percent chance after a pass from Riquelme, shooting not into the empty goal, but directly at the Mexican goalkeeper.
However, Figueroa managed to score in the 110th minute, receiving a pass in the penalty area, he pushed the ball through the defender and between the goalkeeper's legs. The extra time also ended in a draw, and the winner had to be determined in a penalty shootout.
The first eight penalties were successful, but on the ninth, Pineda showed nerves of steel and stylishly placed the ball into the goal, followed by another successful shot from J. Sorin, making the score 5-5. Then G. Luxas saved R. Osorio's shot, and E. Cambiasso's shot was accurate.
Argentina won the penalty shootout 6-5 and secured a dramatic victory in the semifinals. So, in the Confederations Cup final, two teams considered favorites before the tournament will face each other - the World Champion Brazil and the South American Vice-Champion Argentina.
