Copa America .. Argentina's group harvest: Messi reaches his 73rd goal and Paraguay leads

Argentine star Lionel Messi started his Copa America campaign with a bittersweet taste, after scoring the 73rd goal with "Tango", but in a match that ended in a 1-1 draw against Chile in Group A, the same team that snatched the title from Albiceleste in 2015 and 2016.

Paraguay topped the group after coming from behind to beat Bolivia 3-1, while Uruguay took a rest, as they prepare to face Argentina on June 18.

The second day of the Copa America in its 47th edition witnessed an increase in anxiety and tension among the delegations of the ten participating teams, after the health authorities in Brazil, the second country most affected by the Corona epidemic behind the United States, revealed 41 cases of Covid-19 among players, members of the technical staff and organizers.

So far, cases of corona have been detected in the delegations of Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

Among the cases of infection, there are 31 cases of players and members of the technical staff, in addition to ten people from the organizing committee of the tournament.

Returning to Group A, Argentina's captain and historical scorer, Lionel Messi, managed to score his 73rd goal for his country in 145 games, with a superb goal from a direct free kick that netted veteran goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, but it was not enough for his team to collect the three points.

The "Flea" is also Argentina's historical scorer in official competitions with 39 goals, surpassing Gabriel Batistuta's number, who scored 38 goals.

The Barcelona star said after the match, "We lacked calm, when we were leading in the result, we could not maintain this lead, and the grass did not help us, we could not control the ball and play faster, which is what distinguished the opponent. I did not see the penalty, But it changed the course of the game."

He continued, "We wanted to start the tournament with a victory, it was important to start with a victory, we played against a very difficult opponent, and facing Uruguay will be like that, and that is why we wanted to start the tournament with a victory."

But Chile tied a penalty kick by Eduardo Vargas after the referee returned to the VAR technique, to keep the point thanks to the tightness of its defenses in front of the skills of Messi and his companions.

Paraguay also escaped from the "trap" of its Bolivian counterpart, to be able to win deservedly 3-1 after being behind by a goal.

"Alverde" advanced early with a goal scored by Erwin Sapedra from a penalty kick after the intervention of the video assistant referee technology again, before the Bolivia player, Jaume Cuba, was sent off at the end of the first half.

Paraguay took advantage of the matter in the second half to score a hat-trick through Alejandro Romero and Angel Romero (double), to temporarily lead the first group with three points, knowing that it will rest in the second round.

"We played the game that we needed to play, and we played intensely from start to finish, and we had many chances to score," said Argentine coach Eduardo Perizzo after the match. "It's a win that will strengthen our strength."

"I think we were in control of the match, whether it was 11 against 11 or 11 against 10," he added. He continued, "Although we were late by a goal, my team was confident in its capabilities, which made us return in the result."

While Chile will face Bolivia on Friday evening / dawn on Saturday, and Argentina will clash with Uruguay