Juan Roman Riquelme's f i r s t - h a I f double fired Argentina

into the quarterfinals of the Copa America with a 4-2 victory against 10-man Colombia on Monday.

At Barinas, Paraguay also moved into the last eight with a 3-1 victory over the United States.

Edison Perea handed Colombia the lead but Hernan Crespo's penalty kick and Riquelme's brace handed Argentina a convincing halftime lead.

Jaime Castrillon pulled a goal back for Colombia with 18 minutes remaining, but following Fabian Vargas' dismissal, Diego Milito sealed the victory in stoppage time.

Paraguay however top Group C by virtue of goal difference ahead of next Thursday's decisive match againstArgentina.

"We are happy because we did very well what coach Basile (Alfio) asked us," Riquelme said. "The team showed a lot of coolness in the difficult moments of the match and now we have to think about the

future.

"I think Argentina played very well, as scoring eight times in two games is not an easy task. I'm very satisfied with the squad's performance."

Colombia made a nervous start to the match and Argentina came close to opening the scoring after just five minutes as Crespo's header from Riquelme's corner struck the crossbar and bounced down on the line before being scrambled clear.

Colombia recovered from the close call and Perea handed his side the lead from close range.

Argentina equalised with 20 minutes on the watch as Crespo converted from the spot after Lionel Messi had been awarded a disputed penalty.

Crespo surpassed Diego Maradona's goal-scoring tally of 34 to move into second place on Argentina's list, but was unable add to the total after being replaced by Milito moments after converting from the spot.

Javier Zanetti crossed from the right for Riquelme to head his side into a 34th-minute lead before the Boca Juniors midfielder curled

home a trademark free-kick from the edge of the area to hand Argentina a comfortable halftime lead.

Colombia goalkeeper Miguel Calero denied Milito before Castrillon reduced the deficit after 72 minutes.

Midfielder Javier Arizala came close to snatching an equaliser with five minutes remaining as his long-range effort beat Roberto Abbondanzieri but struck the post before Vargas picked up his second yellow card.

Milito wasted an opportunity to re-establish the two goals cushion before finally sealing the win in stoppage time.

Despite the victory, Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano was concerned about several defensive mistakes.

"We won an important match and played well," he said. "But we have

to defend better after a corner kick. Wedidn'texpecttheirfirstgoal.

"It is very difficult to maintain the pace as the temperature makes it very tough. It is hot and we are always trying to attackand have the ball."

Colombia coach Jorge Pinto heaped blame on Brazilian referee Carlos Simon who handed Argentina a disputed first-half penalty and dismissing Vargas in the closing stages.

"The penalty wasn't a penalty in any part of the world," Simon said. "It was a loose ball that wasn't going to do any damage in the defence. I think that some referees are afraid to give decisions against some of the South American giants."

Paraguay almost ended America's chances of qualification to the knockout stage with a convincing victory in Group C.

US Coach Bob Bradley bemoaned defensive frailties of his ^ide.

"When you play against a team like Paraguay, you can't make mistakes because they have got great forwards," said Bradley, who watched his side suffer a 4-1 defeat by Argentina last week. "It is a tough result on us because we made a very big effort and we also created a lot of opportunities, but we weren't able to take advantage of them."

Edgar Barreto put Paraguay ahead, 1-0, before Ricardo Clark tied it for the U.S. five minutes before halftime.

However, the South Americans' sustained pressure saw them claim a deserved victory through Oscar Cardozo before Salvador Cabanas sealed the win when he curled a long-range free-kick into the net in injury time.

Paraguay had two draws and two losses against the United States in the previous four meetings.

"We have to start thinking about correcting some mistakes in the defence," Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino said after watching his side improved to 2-0-0 in the tournament following a 5-0 demolition of Colombia last week.

"We suffered a lot when we lost the ball in an attack. When you take risks in the rivals' box, you always sufferin yourown.

"We had the same amount of chances as the USA and the forwards showed their skills. Since I arrived we are trying to change the historic way of Paraguay in attacking, and that is leaving us with some headaches in the defence too."