Argentina meet Brazil in final after penalty win

Mexico 1
Argentina 1

(aet: 90 mins 0-0; Argentina win 6-5 on penalties)

Argentina beat Mexico 6-5 on penalties and will play world champions Brazil in the Confederations Cup final after their semi-final ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time yesterday.

A poor match which only flickered briefly into life at the very end of a torpid 90 minutes finally tipped Argentina's way in the shoot-out after the first 10 penalties were all converted.

Mexican defender Ricardo Osorio was the first to miss from the spot when Argentina keeper German Lux saved low to his right meaning that if Argentina scored with their next penalty they were through.

Esteban Cambiasso duly obliged with a well-struck shot to maintain his country's astonishingly successful record in semi-finals in major competitions.

Argentina have not been beaten in the penultimate stage of a top class tournament since 1987, but that record looked in grave danger when Mexico went ahead 14 minutes into extra time.

Carlos Salcido scored after a solo run from the halfway line down the left during which he evaded two tackles before curling home a well-executed goal.

But six minutes later Luciano Figueroa equalised for Argentina. Figueroa did well to control the ball which appeared to be running behind him, and then forced in a shot from close range which squirmed past the defenders and goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez and just went over the line.

Both teams finished the scrappy game with 10 men after Argentina's Javier Saviola was sent off in the 90th minute for a high and late challenge on Mexico's Gonzalo Pineda and Mexico's Rafael Marquez was dismissed three minutes later for a challenge on Pablo Aimar.

They were the first players sent off in the 14 matches played in the tournament so far and Saviola will miss Wednesday's final in Frankfurt.

Marquez, too, will miss Mexico's playoff against Germany for third place in Leipzig earlier on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a tearful Jose Pekerman took time out from the team's semi-final celebrations to remember the young Argentina goalkeeper who died on Saturday night.

Pekerman revealed the team's sadness at the death of 17-year-old Emiliano Molina.

"I couldn't leave here without talking about this on a very sad day for Argentina," Pekerman said, as his eyes reddened with tears.

"We were playing with black armbands because we have lost a great young player."

Independiente goalkeeper Molina, a member of his country's under-17 team this year, died on Saturday in Buenos Aires from serious injuries suffered in a car crash 12 days earlier.

"I agree it was not a great match but we fought hard, especially in the second half and extra time," Pekerman said of yesterday's semi-final.

"The team has the capacity to deliver a very good match against Brazil in the final."

Mexico: Sanchez; Osorio, Marquez, Salcido, Pineda; Pardo, Zinha (Torrado 94), Morales (Medina 72), Mendez; Lozano (Perez 56),Borgetti.

Argentina: Lux; Zanetti, Coloccini, Milito (Rodriguez 66), Heinze; Cambiasso, Santana (Aimar 76), Riquelme, Sorin; Saviola, Figueroa (Galletti 116).

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy).

Scorers: Salcido 104; Figueroa 110.

Red Cards: Saviola (A) 90; Marquez (M) 90.

Attendance: 40,718.

Penalty Shoot-Out

Perez (M) 1-0 scored; Riquelme (A) 1-1 scored; Pardo (M) 2-1 scored; Rodriguez (A) 2-2 scored; Borgetti (M) 3-2 scored; Aimar (A) 3-3 scored; Salcido (M) 4-3 scored; Galletti (A) 4-4 scored; Pineda (M) 5-4 scored; Sorin (A) 5-5 scored; Osorio (M) 5-5 saved; Cambiasso (A) 5-6 scored.

Next Matches

Wednesday
Third-place match: Germany vs Mexico (5.45 p.m. - Leipzig).
Final: Brazil vs Argentina (8.45 p.m. - Frankfurt).