updated 9:21 p.m. ET July 8, 2007

MATURIN, Venezuela - Mexico took advantage of being a man up from the third minute to shut out Paraguay 6-0 to advance to the Copa America semifinals on Sunday.

Mexico will meet Argentina, which defeated Peru 4-0, on Wednesday. Uruguay will face Brazil on Tuesday in the other semifinal.

Paraguay lost goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla when he was given a red card for a sliding tackle on Nery Castillo, setting up a penalty shot which the forward converted to the left of substitute Joel Zayas.

Zayas, Paraguay’s third-string goalkeeper, took the field in place of midfielder Jonathan Santana, denying the Paraguayans a key component of their attack.

Down one man, Paraguay struggled to regroup offensively and Mexico scored three goals in each half.

Mexico made it 2-0 on a driving shot from Gerardo Torrado in the 22nd minute. Castillo trapped a Juan Carlos Cacho pass with his chest and allowed one bounce before scoring in the 38th minute.

Castillo, whose two goals gave him four for the tournament, two less than leading scorer Robinho of Brazil, was replaced early in the second half but the rout continued.

Fernando Arce made it 4-0 in the 78th minute. Cuauhtemoc Blanco hit a penalty in the 87th, and replacement Omar Bravo headed in Jamie Lozano’s pass in injury time to cap the scoring.

After losing to the United States 2-1 in the final of the CONACAF Gold Cup, Mexico arrived in Venezuela missing key players — including career leading scorer Jared Borgetti — to injury.

Despite the injuries, Mexico upset Brazil 2-0 in its opener on its way to finishing undefeated atop Group B.

Slide show   The Week in Sports Pictures Fireworks, crash landings, Wimbledon theatrics and more. more photos

Argentina used four second-half goals, including two by Juan Roman Riquelme, to bounce Peru.

Riquelme opened the scoring in the 47th minute as he muscled a left-footed shot past diving goalkeeper Leao Butron.

In the 61st minute, Riquelme sent a pass to Lionel Messi, who slipped the ball between Butron’s legs for a 2-0 lead.

In the 75th minute, Mascherano scored off a give-and-go play by Messi and Carlos Tevez. Riquelme had his fourth goal of the tournament in the 85th minute.

MORE FROM SOCCER

Soccer Section Front

Adu’s Cup quest comes home Adu leaves U.S. team to join Benfica European soccer taps Latin American connection Violence in South Africa as Cup workers strike ESPN paid Beckham's management company Patriots owner to help bring World Cup to U.S. Michael Bradley suspended for 3 matches Slideshow: The life of Becks, on and off the field MLS scores, schedules, standings, more Vote: Who will be MLS champions? Soccer Section Front   Add Soccer headlines to your news reader: