Paraguay advances to Copa America final

Paraguay rode its luck through another penalty shootout to beat Venezuela on Wednesday and set up a Copa America final against Uruguay.

Paraguay, which has not won any of its five matches in the tournament, booked its place in the final following a goalless draw and a 5-3 victory on penalties.

The only miss in the shootout came when Justo Villar stopped Franklin Lucena’s shot. Dario Veron held his nerve to net the final spot kick and set up Sunday’s final against Uruguay, which beat Peru 2-0 in the other semifinal on Tuesday.

“I hope we are having some champion’s luck, because in truth we suffered a lot,” Paraguay striker Nelson Haedo Valdez said. “We were very lucky, but football is like this, not always the winner is the best.”

Venezuela, known more for its baseball, twice hit the post in extra time but came up just short of reaching its first ever final in the South American championship.

Paraguay advanced to its first Copa America final since 1979 despite its mediocre record. It eliminated Brazil in another penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.

“Today we played bad, we played good,” said Paraguay’s Nestor Ortigoza. “The important thing is we won.”

After the shootout, a brawl between the teams started as Paraguay celebrated, prompting police to intervene. Venezuela coach Cesar Farias blamed Paraguay team officials for provoking his players.

That incident came after a game in which Paraguay had its coach and assistant coach expelled from the sideline for arguing decisions.

Nestor Ortigoza, Lucas Barrios, Cristian Riveros and Osvaldo Martinez also netted for Paraguay in the shootout.

Giancarlo Maldonado, Jose Rey and Nicolas Fedor scored for Venezuela, but Lucena — taking his team’s third kick — saw his low shot to the bottom left corner comfortably held by Villar.

“We came convinced we could advance,” Farias said. “We did everything humanly possible. Our team never lost its focus. ... We’re not content because we worked to go farther.”

Villar had already been the key for Paraguay when it eliminated Brazil, making difficult saves in regulation and extra time before stopping a penalty in the shootout.

“We are all heroes today,” Villar said. “I stopped a penalty and the ball hit the post several times, that also comes into play in times like these.”