Tevez says he's not afraid of penalties

The Boca Juniors forward says he had already moved on from his 2011 miss when he stepped up to book Argentina's Copa America semi-final berth

Carlos Tevez says his winning penalty in Argentina’s Copa America shootout victory over Colombia provided a personal redemption.

At Copa America 2011, Tevez missed the only kick to see the then hosts eliminated at the same stage by bitter rivals Uruguay.

But in a dramatic finale to Saturday’s quarter-final in Vina del Mar, the Boca Juniors striker kept his cool to convert the winning kick after five penalties had been missed, and insisted his personal history was far from his mind.

"This is for my team-mates. It's not just me," Tevez told the host broadcaster after the game.

"Football always provides the opportunity for revenge, but what happened four years ago is over."

Meanwhile, captain Lionel Messi claimed Argentina produced their "best match" of the continental championships so far but was frustrated he could not add to his goals tally at the Estadio Sausalito.

Messi has just one goal from four matches at the tournament.

"It's terrible what it costs me to score a goal for the national team," the Barcelona forward said.

"Today I had two very clear chances and I could not score.

"But the important thing is that the team produced a great match and, although it was on penalties, we deserved to progress."

Messi's best chance came in the first half when Ospina produced a brilliant save to deny the striker's follow-up header after the Colombian gloveman had stopped Sergio Aguero's initial strike.