Football: Palermo enjoys change of luck

ARGENTINA'S MARTIN Palermo redeemed himself from Sunday's triple penalty miss as he scored in a 2-0 Copa America Group C win over Uruguay here on Wednesday night, a result that earned his team an enticing quarter- final fixture against Brazil.

Palermo claimed his third goal of the cup to become the joint top scorer in the tournament and consign Sunday's nightmare, when he took three penalties and missed them all in a 3-0 defeat by Colombia, to Copa history.

Both teams had qualified for the last eight before the kick-off thanks to Colombia's earlier 2-1 win over Ecuador at the same venue, the Estadio Feliciano Caceres, where the veteran Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita made a subdued return to international competition.

Argentina would have avoided the Group B winners, Brazil, if they had drawn, but that thought clearly never crossed their minds and they attacked from the outset.

Cristian Gonzalez, the Real Zaragoza striker, gave them a second-minute lead with a powerful drive following an indirect free-kick. But all eyes were on Palermo, who had said he would avenge his misfortune against Uruguay and whose name was chanted by the large contingent of Argentine fans who had crossed the border before the kick-off.

The Boca Juniors marksman, who began the tournament by scoring twice against Ecuador, quickly got involved in the game, though his enthusiasm got the better of him when he was booked for diving midway through the first half.

Palermo was rewarded for his persistence, though, in the 57th minute when a cross from Juan Riquelme landed at his feet and he blasted the ball emphatically into the roof of the net. Shortly afterwards, he was substituted after suffering an elbow in the face, but his coach, Marcelo Bielsa, said Palermo was certain to face Brazil on Sunday.

Uruguay's defeat relegated them to third place in the group and a quarter- final against the hosts, Paraguay, tomorrow.

Colombia, who went through when they beat Argentina on Sunday, rested eight first-choice players and gave Higuita, who has played only one friendly for his country since the 1995 Copa America, his first competitive international appearance for four years.

Higuita, who made his name with an unorthodox style of goalkeeping that often bordered on sheer recklessness, was a different man. He ditched his old habit of dribbling round opposing forwards in his own penalty area and never once rushed halfway up the field to intercept a pass.

Instead, he stayed in his own area, something which would have been unheard of a few years ago. He misjudged several crosses and often looked insecure, but he made two important saves early in the match as Ecuador, who needed to win to maintain any hope of qualifying, took early control.

However, two goals in three minutes by Neider Morantes and the Middlesbrough marksman Hamilton Ricard sank Ecuador, who replied only with a 50th-minute strike by the Argentine-born Ariel Graziani, the first goal Colombia have conceded in the tournament.

Colombia topped the group with nine points, followed by Argentina on six, Uruguay on three and Ecuador with none. The Uruguayans qualified as the second-best of the third-placed teams, Bolivia having come third in Group A with only two points.

Chile finished the first round as the best third-placed team and will play Colombia on Sunday, while Mexico meet Peru tomorrow.