SOCCER : United States Stuns Argentina, 3-0

The United States scored one of the most significant victories in its 82-year soccer history Friday, defeating Argentina, 3-0, to advance to the quarterfinals of the America Cup tournament.

The victory, only the third ever by a U.S. team over a South American team in South America, clinched the group championship for the Americans at the expense of the favored Argentines.

The United States will play Mexico--which it beat, 4-0, in the U.S. Cup ’95 tournament last month--in the quarterfinals in Paysandu on Monday. Argentina, which finished second in the group, will play Brazil in another quarterfinal in Rivera.

Goals by striker Frank Klopas and defender Alexi Lalas gave the U.S. team a 2-0 lead in the first half, and forward Eric Wynalda added the third in the second half.

Argentina, the defending America Cup champion, needed only a tie to clinch first place in the group, and Coach Daniel Passarella elected to rest some of his starters, then sent three of them on as second-half substitutes.

American winger Cobi Jones of Westlake Village dismissed claims that the Argentines had fielded a weak team.

“They started nine different players, but look where those players are playing,” Jones said. “Those nine could start on any other national team in the world. And they started to panic when those nine players were getting whopped by us.

“They started bringing in their No. 1 starters and they still lost 1-0 to us in the second half. Either way you look at it, we won two different games.”

Steve Sampson, interim coach of the U.S. team, could well have clinched the position on a permanent basis as a result of the victory, the United States’ first in seven attempts against Argentina dating from 1928.

“I was most proud of the way we played in the second half, when Argentina put in three of its best players, and we answered that with a goal,” Sampson said. “That was critical for us. It allowed us to gain even more confidence.

“As far as games are concerned, this has to rate as one of the best in U.S. soccer history.”

Earlier, Bolivia clinched a berth in the quarterfinals, overcoming a two-goal deficit to tie Chile, 2-2.

On Sunday, Paraguay will play Colombia in one quarterfinal, while Uruguay plays Bolivia in another.