Mexico blanks Paraguay 6-0 to reach semifinals of Copa America

MATURIN, Venezuela (AP) -- Mexico took advantage of being a man up from the third minute to shut out Paraguay 6-0 to advance to the Copa America semifinals on Sunday.

Mexico will meet the winner of the quarterfinal between Argentina and Paraguay on Wednesday.
Paraguay lost goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla when he was given a red card for a sliding tackle on Nery Castillo, setting up a penalty shot which the forward converted to the left of substitute Joel Zayas. Zayas, Paraguay's third-string goalkeeper, took the field in place of midfielder Jonathan Santana, denying the Paraguayans a key component of their attack.

Down one man, Paraguay struggled to regroup offensively and Mexico scored three goals in each half.

Mexico made it 2-0 on a driving shot from Gerardo Torrado in the 22nd minute. Castillo trapped a Juan Carlos Cacho pass with his chest and allowed one bounce before scoring in the 38th minute.

Castillo, whose two goals gave him four for the tournament, two less than leading scorer Robinho of Brazil, was replaced early in the second half but the rout continued.

Fernando Arce made it 4-0 in the 78th minute. Cuauhtemoc Blanco hit a penalty in the 87th, and replacement Omar Bravo headed in Jamie Lozano's pass in injury time to cap the scoring.

After losing to the United States 2-1 in the final of the CONACAF Gold Cup, Mexico arrived in Venezuela missing key players -- including career leading scorer Jared Borgetti -- to injury.

Despite the injuries, Mexico upset Brazil 2-0 in its opener on its way to finishing undefeated atop Group B.