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COPA AMÉRICA

Argentina's Copa América campaign hasn't started yet - Scaloni

Argentina's Copa América will only be truly get under way in the team's next game, against Paraguay, said coach Lionel Scaloni.

Argentina's Copa América campaign hasn't started yet - Scaloni
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Lionel Scaloni said it was like Argentina's Copa América campaign had not yet started as his side look to bounce back against Paraguay on Wednesday. Argentina slumped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Colombia in their opening game, leaving them bottom of Group B and in danger of an early exit.

Argentina's Giovani Lo Celso, Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul in training yesterday.
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Argentina's Giovani Lo Celso, Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul in training yesterday.WASHINGTON ALVESREUTERS

"We'll bounce back from opening defeat"

Scaloni said his players had taken the defeat as expected and he is anticipating a response in Belo Horizonte. "The Copa for us is like it has not started yet. The group is doing well, assimilating the defeat as it should," he told a news conference. "We would have liked to have started in another way, but the players are clear that there are two games to play."

Scaloni was unwilling to name his starting XI on Tuesday, but there were elements of his side's performance against Colombia he was pleased with. The former Argentina international hopes to see his team become more consistent over 90 minutes when they face Paraguay, who drew 2-2 with Qatar in their first outing.

Possession but no goals

"Most winning teams haven't dominated as we did in those 30 minutes with Colombia," Scaloni said. "If we had scored, our situation would be different. Unfortunately, we didn't score and paid for it."