Argentina stumbles to a draw with Colombia

Argentina stumbled to a 0-0 draw against Colombia in the Copa America on Wednesday in another disappointing performance by the host nation which threatens its passage to the knock-out stage.

The match was similar to Argentina’s 1-1 draw in its opening game against Bolivia, with coach Sergio Batista sticking with nearly the same starters, led by a misfiring Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez.

Argentina’s two big-name forwards were outplayed by Colombia strikers Radamel Falcao and Dayro Moreno, who had more chances and deserved a winning result.

Argentina will need a victory in the final group match against Costa Rica -- which is fielding a youth team -- to guarantee passage to the second round.

Batista will be under pressure to engineer a result for the hosts, who were tipped by many to win the tournament. Batista took over from Diego Maradona after a disappointing World Cup but has failed to produce results for a nation starved for any major titles in 18 years.

Argentina has two points from two games in Group A. Colombia leads the group with four from two games. Bolivia (1 point from 1 game) and Costa Rica (0 points from 1 game) will play Thursday. The top two teams in the group advance automatically to the quarterfinals while the best two third-place teams from the three groups also advance.

Colombia outplayed Argentina in the first half with Falcao and Moreno each coming up with several threatening chances. Moreno came close after 20 minutes with two shots sailing just side.

Argentina again failed to get Messi into the match, although Ezequiel Lavezzi came close to scoring in the 34th, charging in off the right side with a shot that goalkeeper Luis Martinez saved with his right leg.

Falcao forced Argentine keeper Sergio Romero into a diving save in the 42nd on a long shot. Moreno made Romero dive again two minutes later with another threatening attack.

The second half was much the same, and again Colombia looked more dangerous.

Pablo Armero came close on a shot just across the face of goal in the 65th. Two minutes later Romero came up with a big save on Falcao.

Argentina finished with four forwards -- Messi, Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero -- on the pitch in a desperate search for a goal, but still failed to create any genuine chances.

Messi had a good opportunity with a free kick from the top right corner of the penalty area in the 81st, but his attempt sailed 10 meters (yards) high and wide, and the Barcelona star dropping his head onto his chest in disappointment.