WELL BEATEN

"We gave it our best effort but we were well and truly beaten. It's part of football," said shell-shocked Peru coach Julio Cesar Uribe.

"Argentina had the variations and superior talent."

Mexico were beaten 1-0 at home by Paraguay in a friendly last month but a repeat never looked on the cards after Bobadilla upended Castillo and was dismissed early on.

Bobadilla was replaced by Joel Zayas, whose first job on his international debut was to pick Castillo's penalty out of the net.

Castillo added another goal before halftime, his fourth of the tournament, while midfielder Gerardo Torrado was on target in between.

Paraguay kept it respectable until the last 15 minutes when Fernando Arce, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, from another penalty, and Omar Bravo doubled Mexico's tally.

"The target is to win the Copa America and we're on the right path, especially considering that we're improving with every game," said Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez.

Mexico have been taking part as guests since 1993 and have already reached two finals, losing to Argentina on their debut and Colombia in 2001.

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