Sergio Aguero's second-half header earned Argentina a crucial 1-0 win against Uruguay in the Copa America today.
The Argentines were wasteful in the first half, but hit the front when Aguero latched on to the end of Pablo Zabaleta's near-post cross.
Uruguay had several chances to snatch a point, but there finishing left a lot to be desired and they now fall to third place in Group B.
You can relive Sports Mole's coverage below.
Good morning folks and welcome to our live coverage of the crucial Copa America clash between Argentina and Uruguay from the Estadio La Portada de La Serena.
Argentina need to win tonight to boost their chances of making it through to the quarter-finals. They currently have one point after their draw with Paraguay, while Uruguay have three after their 1-0 win over Jamaica.
Paraguay have thrown a further spanner into the works after they beat Jamaica 1-0 earlier tonight. They now sit on four points, three more than Argentina!
TEAM NEWS: Argentina have recalled Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta, while Lucas Biglia slots into midfield. Edinson Cavani continues to play up front for Uruguay, and they will expect a lot from him tonight!
ARGENTINA: Romero, Garay, Otamendi, Rojo, Biglia, Mascherano, Pastore, Messi, Di Maria, Aguero.
URUGUAY: Muslera, Pereira, Gimenez, Godin, Pereira, Sanchez, Arevalo, Lodeiro, Rodriguez, Rolan, Cavani.
So Gerardo Martino has opted against wholesale changes after that disappointing draw with Paraguay. Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez remain on the bench, while Ever Banega has been dropped.
Much will be expected of Lionel Messi as per usual, but the Barcelona superstar has been caught up in a storm back home. Both he and Di Maria were caught laughing as their emerged from the tunnel after half time in their game with Paraguay and reports suggest that they were laughing at Martino's team talk.
There is no such trouble in Uruguay's camp, although that might be down to the notable absence of Luis Suarez. The ex-Liverpool striker is still banned from international football after that bite on Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup.
Right then, we're almost ready in La Serena! Both sets of players have emerged from the tunnel, and we're about to have the national anthems.
There are a lot of Uruguay flags on show, and they passionately belt out their national anthem! The players are taking pride in singing it too, although their anthem is so long that it has to be condensed to just 90 seconds today.
Argentina complete their anthem with similar gusto, and we're ready for the action!
KICKOFF! Argentina, who are in their dark blue strip tonight, get us underway.
It's a controlled start from Martino's men, who look comfortable in possession early on as they knock the ball around.
Great defending from Ezequial Garay, who calmly heads away Maxi Pereira's swinging cross. It was a vital interception by the Arentine defender as Edinson Cavani was lurking just behind him, and looked primed to have an effort on goal.
SHOT! Sergio Aguero is so hard to play against. His electric movement sees him latch on to the end of a Pastore through ball inside the area. However, his first-time shot is deflected wide for a corner, which eventually comes to nothing. Argentina's front three look sharp in these early stages.
SAVE! Argentina are well on top, and create a great chance to score the first goal. Messi drops deep into midfield and finds Pastore with a clever reverse pass. The PSG man carries the ball to the edge of the box before slipping in Di Maria on the right. The Manchester United winger fails to bend the ball as much as he wants though, and his shot is saved by Muslera.
It's obvious from the off that Uruguay lack energy up front without Luis Suarez. They've created very little so far, and Cavani has looked isolated.
SHOT! Di Maria slashes an effort horribly wide from a good position in the box on the left. Rojo's cross found him in space, and you would expect him to do better from there despite the tight angle.
Nicolas Otamendi seems all alone as he stands with the ball in the centre circle. Argentina have pushed Uruguay deep inside their own half, and there seems to be no escape.
It's proving to be tough for Argentina too though. They've seen plenty of the ball, but Uruguay have remained rigid in their defensive shape and are marshalled by the excellent Diego Godin.
CHANCE! Alvaro Pereira concedes a free kick on the edge of the box, and Messi is standing over it...
Messi decides not to shoot from the tight angle, and Uruguay deal with his drilled cross.
SHOT! Nice work again from Messi, who always seem to make the right pass at the right moment. This time he frees Pastore on the edge of the box, and he tests Muslera with a low shot.
CLOSE! What a chance for Uruguay! Finally, they pile men forward and Rodriguez almost finds Rolan with an inch-perfect cross. It's eventually cleared for a corner, but Argentina do a bad job defensively as they leave Godin unmarked from six yards. He mistimes his jump though, and can only glance it wide. What a let off for Martino's men.
Pastore is proving to be tough for Uruguay to deal with. The attacking midfielder is dropping into little pockets of space and is working in tandem with Messi and Di Maria. The trio look very dangerous.
SAVE! Great save from Muslera to keep out Aguero from point-blank range! A beautifully floated cross from Messi finds the striker at the back post in space. He heads it back across goal, but Muslera gets down low to keep it out. Brilliant football all round.
CHANCE! Is there anything Messi can't do? Well, his heading skills leave a lot to be desired at times. Di Maria whips in a delicious cross from the right, but the Barca star badly mistimes his effort and it glances weakly off his forehead. With the pace on the ball, Messi only needed to get it on target and Muslera would have been struggling.
CLOSE! Uruguay go close again! And it's a bad miss from Rolan, who has to score from there! Pereira does great down the right as he scampers into a crossing position and whips a ball into the box. The big Rolan gets up ahead of Zabaleta, but heads it wide from six yards out. Unbelievable. He could have had two by now.
YELLOW CARD! Uruguay's Nicolas Lodeiro picks up the first booking of the match for a late tackle.
With all the crosses Argentina are putting into the box, you wonder if Gonzalo Higuain would have been a better option up front. Aguero is world class, but he's struggling to get on to the end of the multiple balls into the box.
RED CARD! The referee has had enough, but not with anyone on the pitch! He's sent Argentina manager Gerardo Martino to the stands following an altercation with an official. Not ideal for the former champions.
Argentina look a little frustrated now. They've not been able to turn their dominance into goals, and are lucky not to be trailing. Now their manager has been banned from the touchline, they look a little flustered.
Muslera is livid with the referee as he felt he was fouled by Otamendi at a corner...Yep, replays confirm that the Valencia man barged into him in mid-air. The referee waves for another corner, and a goal would not go down well...
But Messi over-hits the corner, and it's easily cleared.
Uruguay are dangerous in the air, as Argentina struggle to clear a Loderio set-piece. They will be the happier side at the break if it stays like this.
YELLOW CARD! Mascherano becomes the second man to be booked for an ugly tackle on Lodeiro. It was late, and unnecessary and Uruguay's players are unsurprisingly angry with him.
HALF TIME: ARGENTINA 0-0 URUGUAY
The referee calls for half time and there are some frustrated faces amongst the Argentine players. Uruguay have let them have the ball, defended manfully and even created the best two chances of the match.
Argentina haven't been helped by their manager either, after Martino was sent to the stands for arguing with an official. His team-talk better be good, because it's the last he'll see of them until the end of the game.
A draw would suit Uruguay far better than Argentina, as it would put them joint-top with Paraguay ahead of their last game. Argentina will fancy themselves against Jamaica in their last match, but a draw would mean they will have to rely on either Uruguay or Paraguay losing in the final round of games for them to reach the quarter-finals.
There is also an added incentive to top the group, as the runner-up is likely to face Brazil in the next round!
Dunga's side beat Peru in their opener and face Colombia tomorrow, in a game you can follow live with us. Victory would see them safely through to the knock-out stages.
But their great rivals need to win tonight to increase their chances of joining them. Martino has the likes of Higuain, Tevez, Lavezzi and Lamela on the bench and will surely look to bring some of them on early in the second half if little changes.
The players are almost ready to start the second half. The game has kept a nice tempo, but its about time we saw a goal or two. Fingers crossed.
KICKOFF! Uruguay re-start the match.
SAVE! Straight from the kickoff, Uruguay dart forward and force Romero into an early save. Pereira made space for himself down the right, and smashed a shot across goal from a tight angle. Romero was equal to it though, and beat it firmly away.
Gonzales needlessly concedes a free kick wide on the left, but Di Maria badly over-hits it and it goes out of play. It's met with a series of jeers and whistles from the Argentine fans.
SHOT! Well, this more of a rugby conversion than a shot from Edinson Cavani, who blazes a half-volley over the bar from 30 yards. Jonny Wilkinson would be proud of that.
It's been more of the same so far in the second period. Argentina are dominating possession, but Uruguay are defending superbly. How can Martino's men change this round?
Oooh, that's risky from Romero, who runs out of his penalty area to challenge Cavani for a bouncing ball. He wins the duel, but that could have ended badly.
GOAL! ARGENTINA 1-0 URUGUAY (AGUERO)
GOAL: Finally, Argentina score! And it's a goal made in Manchester as Zabaleta crosses superbly for Aguero. The striker showed plenty of bravery to get across to the front post and power a header past Muslera, and there is a feeling of relief in their end of the ground.
Just minutes after scoring, it looks like being the end of the night for Aguero, who goes down clutching his shoulder in pain. He signals to the bench, and he may not be on for much longer.
SHOT! After a couple of minutes of treatment Aguero is fine to carry on, but Di Maria must be wishing that he'd gone off after he wasteda fine chance here. The City striker was surging forward with Di Maria in space to his left, but he took the shot on himself and it dribbled through to the keeper. Di Maria gives him a dirty look, and you can't blame him.
SUBSTITUTE! Uruguay need to change things and Oscar Tabarez responds by sending on Carlos Sanchez in place of Cristian Rodriguez.
So then Uruguay, what have you got? The defending champions need to find something here or they will fall to third in the group. So far in this half they have sat back, but they need to come out of their shell soon.
CLOSE! Outstanding from Messi, who almost forces a second. The forward jinks past a bamboozled Pereira down the right, but his cross for Aguero is just about cleared.
SUBSTITUTE! Abel Hernandez, who I'm sure is a fan-favourite down at Hull, has come on to replace Nicolas Lodeiro.
The introduction of Hernandez should help Cavani, as it gives him a partner who he can work off. Argentina remain in control though, and little has changed in the last 20 minutes.
Messi gets a little hot under the collar as he squares up to Rios after a late tackle by the substitute.
CHANCE! What a big, big, big chance this is for Diego Rolan, and he HAS to score! A rebound falls perfectly for him inside the box, but he blazes it over the top from six yards! Incredible.
CLOSE! Uruguay have come alive, and come within inches of a spectacular equaliser! Alvaro Gonzales tries an ambitious volley from 30 yards, but he catches it sweetly and it dips marginally over the bar. Excellent effort!
SUBSTITUTE! The potential match-winner Sergio Aguero trots off, and is replaced by Carlos Tevez. The tenacious striker is probably the last person Uruguay want to see come on.
SAVE! Muslera has been impressive tonight, and he's forced into another excellent shot to keep out a low Messi piledriver. It was sneaking inside the near post, but it was tipped wide for a corner,
SHOT! Abel Hernandez has been anonymous since he came on, but he shows some balletic feet to cut inside Rojo and get a shot off towards goal. Sadly for him though, it drifts harmlessly wide.
YELLOW CARD! Alvaro Pereira hacks down Messi, and rightly goes into the referees notebook.
CLOSE! Uruguay have been a threat from set-pieces all night, and they almost take full advantage! A corner from the right is powered towards goal by Godin but his downward header is blocked on the six-yard line by an Argentine body. Romero breaths a sigh of relief, because that was going past him.
SUBSTITUTE!! The ineffective Di Maria goes off to be replaced by Roberto Pereyra for the final minutes.
SAVE! What a chance for Hernandez!! Cavani's low cross finds him 10 yards out in space, but his low drive is too close to Romero, who beats it away.
Uruguay have a corner...but it comes to nothing as Otamendi scrambles it away, before the referee awards a free kick to the leaders.
Argentina are playing keep-ball as they look to see this out.
FULL TIME: ARGENTINA 1-0 URUGUAY
Argentina do hold on, and claim a vital win in Group B. Aguero's superb header early in the second half was ultimately the difference, but they will feel that they should have won by a bigger margin.
Uruguay will be livid with themselves though as they missed several golden opportunities! They now must beat Paraguay if they want to reach the knock-out stages.
That's it from me today, but fear not because the Copa America will back tonight as Peru face Venezuela and Brazil play Colombia. You can follow both of those matches live with us as the tournament really starts to hot up. Until then, good night.
