Humberto Grondona was angry at the carelessness displayed in his side’s 5-2 opening day victory over Ecuador so the under-20 coach will be irate at the languid nature of the defeat to Paraguay last night in Colonia. Iván Cañete’s early goal proved to be enough for Los Guaraníes as Argentina struggled to break down a well drilled and disciplined defence.

Grondona made a couple of changes to the side that defeated Ecuador two days earlier but stayed faithful to his 3-4-3 formation. However, with the match still in its infancy Paraguay led when Juan Escobar headed the ball back across goal unchallenged, and full-back, Cañete outjumped his marker to steer a header beyond goalkeeper, José Devecchi. The goal changed the dynamic immediately and as Paraguay retreated back, the onus was on Argentina to find a way through their organised banks of defence.

Against Ecuador where Argentina never trailed and were awarded plenty of space, the attack looked potent but against a side who defended deep and in numbers it looked blunt. Worryingly for Grondona, the same could be said for the under-20 two years ago, who were unable to unlock sides and ultimately crashed out in the first round.

For the next 85 minutes, Argentina toiled and while they enjoyed plenty of possession, chances were scant and Paraguay goalkeeper, Tomás Echagüe was rarely tested. Grondona threw on additional forwards in Sebastián Druissi and Maxi Rolón but it appeared to make little difference. Ángel Correa came closest when he danced threw the stubborn defence himself only to see his powerful shot beaten away by Echagüe and in the dying moments, Giovani Simeone wasted a good opportunity but in truth there was not enough invention.

On Sunday, Argentina will play Peru and defeat will not be an option. In the opening two matches there have been some positives to draw on but Humberto Grondona must find a system and a style of play which can convert possession into goal scoring opportunities. Waiting for individual moments of magic from the likes of Correa is not a strategy that can take Argentina all the way to recapturing an under-20 title that has eluded them since 2007.

Argentina  0 – 1  Paraguay