Copa America guest Qatar came from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Paraguay in their Copa America debut, Rodrigo Rojas heading a Boualem Khoukhi effort into his own goal for a bizarre late equalizer.
2019 Copa América
2-2
Group standings
Match events
4' Penalty Goal! Paraguay 1-0 Qatar (Cardozo)
PENALTY FOR PARAGUAY! What a start this is! Almiron takes the corner and Miguel blocks Valdez' header with his arm. The ref points straight to the spot!
GOAL! 1-0 PARAGUAY! 36-year-old veteran striker Oscar Cardozo steps up and buries the ball right down the middle past Al Sheeb in the Qatar goal.
56' GOAL! Paraguay 2-0 Qatar (Gonzalez)
That's a fine assist from Miguel Almiron.
68' GOAL! Paraguay 2-1 Qatar (Ali)
GOAL! 2-1, and Qatar are back in business! The Middle Eastern side combine well down the left to get upfield before Salman passes to Ali just outside the Paraguay area. The forward curls a fantastic shot past Fernandez to get their first ever Copa America goal! That was a beauty.
77' GOAL! Paraguay 2-2 Qatar (Khoukhi)
GOAL! 2-2 QATAR! Paraguay's defence switches off and Afif slides Khouhki through the middle, and his shot is saved by Fernandez. Unfortunately for Paraguay, it loops up towards goal and Rojas can only head it into his own net! it's all level in the Maracana.
Match Reports
Boualem Khoukhi scored a bizarre equaliser as Qatar came from behind to draw 2-2 against Paraguay in their first game of the Copa America.
Paraguay looked set to claim all three Group B points in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after taking a fourth-minute lead thanks to Oscar Cardozo's penalty, with Derlis Gonzalez scoring an unstoppable second.
But invited guests Qatar, who won their maiden Asian Cup earlier this year, showed character to fight back and star man Almoez Ali got them back in the game with a curler from outside the box.
And when Khoukhi's shot squeezed through Paraguay goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez, the backtracking Rojas could only nod the ball in before getting tangled in the net and seemingly damaging his shoulder.
Match ratings
