Argentina avoided a repeat of their group-stage capitulation against Paraguay by producing a stunning display that resulted in a 6-1 victory, setting up a date with hosts Chile in the Copa América final.
La Albiceleste got off to the perfect start, with Marcos Rojo sweeping a Lionel Messi free kick home from 12 yards with just over a quarter of an hour gone.
Javier Pastore then doubled Argentina’s lead in the 27th minute - Messi again supplying the assist - as he fired a low drive past Justo Villar from the top of the box.La Albirroja lost both Derlis González and Roque Santa Cruz to injury in the opening half an hour, but that paved the way for Argentina-born Lucas Barrios to enter the match and he halved the deficit with a powerful strike on the brink of half time.
However, Gerardo Martino’s men responded in superb fashion as Ángel Di María found the back of the net twice within eight minutes of the restart, putting Paraguay's hopes of a repeat of their first-phase comeback against his side to bed.
Ramón Díaz's crestfallen team had no response, and their misery was compounded when Sergio Agüero and Gonzalo Higuaín took Argentina's tally to six in the closing stages - moving them a step closer to ending a 22-year major trophy drought.
Taking on Martino's former team, La Albiceleste started well and built on that – but victory only looked safe after the pair of goals early in the second half.
Messi was at the heart of most of their attacking moves, assisting three goals and playing a huge part in two others.
In that form, the Barcelona superstar may yet lead Argentina to their first major title since the 1993 Copa América.
Martino's side were rewarded for their promising start with the opener 15 minutes in as Messi's set-piece from the left eventually fell to Rojo, who side-footed in a simple finish from close range.Argentina perhaps should have doubled their lead eight minutes later. Messi was at the centre of the attack again as he ran at the Paraguay defence before finding Pastore, who opted to take a touch before seeing his shot saved by Villar.
But the duo would combine successfully to make it 2-0 for Argentina in the 27th minute. The Albiceleste skipper picked out Pastore's well-angled run and the Paris Saint-Germain man found the bottom corner with a fine finish.
Paraguay coach Díaz was forced into two substitutions before the half-hour mark, and one of his introductions had the desired impact.
Bruno Valdez intercepted an Argentine clearance and headed into the path of Barrios, who buried his chance from the edge of the area.
Paraguay's hopes of another comeback – they have come from behind in three of their four games at the tournament – were dealt a huge blow early in the second half.
It was Pastore's time to turn provider as he slid Di María through and the Manchester United attacker finished clinically into the bottom corner.
Messi's run soon after led to a five-on-one situation that Argentina capitalised on when Di María put away a rebound following Pastore being denied.
And Martino's side added a fifth through an Agüero header with 10 minutes remaining before Higuaín completed the scoring moments later to see out a huge victory.
La Albiceleste will now face Chile in the showpiece event on July 4, while Paraguay will meet Peru in the third-place play-off in Concepción the day before.