SALVADOR, Brazil, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Colombia beat Paraguay on Sunday thanks to the goal of Gustavo Cuellar in the 31st minute in the first half and notched three wins from three in Copa America group stage.
Carlos Queiroz's team has already secured the top place in Group B after two games so the coach made 10 changes to the team that beat Qatar on Wednesday. Juan Cuadrado is the only player to start all three group games for Colombia.
Midfielder Cuellar put Colombia ahead with the shot from a tight angle after receiving the pass from Santiago Arias and Luis Diaz struck in the second half but the goal was disallowed by VAR, which showed that the ball had brushed Diaz's right arm.
Diaz also earned a penalty for Colombia late in the injury time but the referee ruled it out after the VAR review.
Carlos Queiroz later expressed his view about the application of VAR in football game at a press conference. He said technology is vital to give credibility to football but the way of using it is debatable.
Argentina beat guest Qatar 2-0 in the other match and advanced into the knockout stage as the runners-up of the group with four points. Paraguay came third with two points and Qatar at the bottom with one point.
Paraguay has to wait for the result between Ecuador and Japan scheduled on Monday to see whether their journey in the tournament will continue. The win either by Ecuador or Japan means elimination for Paraguay.
Paraguayan coach Eduardo Berizzo said he believed that his team will have a place in the quarterfinals to reward the good performances by them in the first two rounds of the group stage.
Colombia will face the runners-up of Group C at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo on Friday in the quarterfinal match.
