The Argentina U23 team drew 1-1 against Paraguay in their first match at the pre-Olympics.

Javier Mascherano’s team scored late in the match to get a draw. Argentina had much of the ball at the start of the match but were unable to create goal scoring opportunities.

It was Paraguay who took the lead off a penalty in the first half. With the score at 0-0, Diego Gómez took the penalty for Paraguay and scored to give them the 1-0 lead.

Mascherano brought on Claudio Echeverri and Federico Redondo for Pablo Solari and Juan Sforza. Echeverri was part of the build up for Argentina’s goal.

Echeverri would have the ball and it fell to Castro who played a low pass into the penalty area and Gondou would draw Argentina level. The Argentina U23 team’s next match is against Peru on Wednesday.

Argentina U23 national team coach Javier Mascherano has named his starting eleven against Paraguay in the pre-Olympic game.

Thiago Almada will wear the number 10 shirt and captain Argentina in their first pre-Olympic match. Javier Mascherano has named the following starting eleven:

Leandro Brey
Joaquín García
Marco Di Cesare
Nicolás Valentini
Valentín Barco
Ezequiel Fernández
Juan Sforza
Thiago Almada
Cristian Medina
Pablo Solari
Santiago Castro