An own-goal by Gabriel Heinze in the 11th minute put Argentina in a hole early, and the home side was forced to play a man down for the last hour when striker Carlos Tevez was expelled for a hard foul on Dario Veron.

Sergio Aguero equalized in the 61st minute.

The draw gave Paraguay 14 points, two more than second-place Argentina.

Argentina started strong, including a free kick from Juan Roman Riquelme that hit the crossbar in the 7th.

But on a Paraguayan counterattack by Nelson Haedo Valdez, goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri left his line too late and a desperate header from Heinze couldn't keep the ball out of the net.

Abbondanzieri suffered a cut to his knee on the play and was replaced by Juan Pablo Carrizo.

Argentina coach Alfio Basile sent in two forwards for the tying goal _ including Aguero, who slotted home a deft cross from Lionel Messi.

Tevez will be ineligible for the team's road match against Peru on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Paraguay hosts Venezuela.

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Lineups:

Argentina: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Juan Pablo Carrizo, 15), Javier Zanetti, Martin Demichelis, Fabricio Coloccini, Gabriel Heinze (Daniel Diaz, 45), Javier Mascherano, Esteban Cambiasso, Angel Di Maria (Sergio Aguero, 45), Juan Roman Riquelme; Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez.

Paraguay: Justo Villar, Dario Veron, Julio Cesar Caceres, Paulo Da Silva, Claudio Morel Rodriguez (Aureliano Torres), Enrique Vera, Edgar Barreto, Jonathan Santana, Cristian Riveros, Nelson Haedo Valdez, Oscar Cardozo (Dante Lopez, 71).