By Habeeb Akinfegbe
On Tuesday 7th June 2016, in
one of the best games of the Copa America Centenario to date, Colombia
defeated Paraguay 2-1 in Group A to become the first side to progress to
the last eight of the competition. It is the ninth time in the last ten competitions that Los Cafeteros,
who won the tournament on home soil in 2001, have advanced beyond the
group phase. The last time they failed to reach the knockout rounds was
at Venezuela 2007.
In the other group game, hosts
USA recorded an emphatic 4-0 defeat of Costa Rica to take a big step
forward in their bid to reach the quarter-finals.
So dominant were Colombia in the first half of their meeting with Paraguay at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena that it was a surprise the result was still in doubt in the second. Carlos Bacca’s header from a corner and a James Rodriguez strike gave Los Cafeteros a deserved 2-0 lead at the break. Paraguay were transformed by coach Ramon Diaz’s substitutions, however, with one of them, Victor Ayala, pulling a goal back with a thunderous drive. The chances then flowed at both ends, and not even Oscar Romero’s sending-off gave Colombia the breathing space they craved, with the ten-man Paraguayans laying siege to the Cafetero goal in the closing stages.
In the day’s opening match, USA atoned for their underwhelming display against the Colombians with an emphatic defeat of Costa Rica in Chicago. Clint Dempsey’s early penalty settled the nerves of Jurgen Klinsmann’s side, who were 3-0 up at the break thanks to superb goals by Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood. Holding firm in the second half, the Stars and Stripes managed to extend their lead thanks to Graham Zusi’s fine finish. To check into the quarters, USA need only a point from their final game, against Paraguay, who need to win and then hope for the result in the other match to go their way. Costa Rica find themselves in a similar position, and must win big against Colombia to have any chance of progressing. In setting the hosts on the road to victory over Costa Rica with his early spot-kick, Dempsey scored the 50th goal of his 126-cap international career, his first having also come at Chicago’s Soldier Field, 11 years earlier. Dempsey is only the second USA player to reach the landmark and now lies just seven goals behind the first, Landon Donovan.
On Wednesday 8th June 2016, after opening their 2016 Copa America Centenario campaign with a goalless draw, Brazil flexed their muscles by putting seven past Haiti on Wednesday. Philippe Coutinho was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick as the Haitians tumbled out of the competition. In the day’s second and final game, Ecuador and Peru shared four goals in a thrilling draw that left Group B wide open. Los Incas surged into a two-goal lead only for La Tri to hit back and claim a crucial point.
Brazil were in command from the very start against Haiti and cruised to an easy win. Dominant in the midfield, the Brazilians looked for Philippe Coutinho every time they regained possession, giving the left-sided Liverpool man the supply he needed to torment the opposition defence.
Executing coach Dunga’s strategy to perfection, the No22
revelled in the space he was afforded, showcasing his dribbling skills
as he ran at the Haitians time and again. It was Coutinho who opened the
scoring 14 minutes in, after which A Canarinha never looked
back. The Rio de Janeiro-born wide man struck twice more, with Renato
Augusto contributing a brace and Gabriel Barbosa and Araujo Lima also
getting in on the act.
Peru and Ecuador then served up a game that had everything: goals, excitement and a compelling comeback. Los Incas made a fast start, shooting into a 2-0 lead in the opening 15 minutes, causing Tri coach Gustavo Quinteros to alter his gameplan. Resisting the urge to throw themselves forward, Ecuador gradually neutralised Peru’s attacking threat, wrested control in midfield and began to fashion some chances of their own, one of which was accepted by Enner Valencia before the break, with Miller Bolanos completing the fightback at the start of the second half. Ecuador last came from two goals down in the Copa America in 1983 against Argentina.
On Thursday 9th June, Venezuela and Mexico booked their places in the quarter-finals of the Copa America Centenario. La Vinotinto sprang one of the surprises of the tournament in beating Uruguay 1-0, while Mexico eased to a 2-0 win over Jamaica. With two wins apiece in Group C, the pair will fight it out for top spot in the section in Houston next Monday. In tumbling out of the competition with the Jamaicans, 15-time champions Uruguay suffered their first group-phase elimination since Bolivia 1997.
A simple but effective gameplan and some opportunistic finishing from
Salomon Rondon saw Venezuela post a narrow win over Uruguay and clinch a
last-eight place for the third time in their four latest attempts.
La Vinotinto owed their first Copa America defeat of La Celeste in nine attempts to Rondon’s tap-in from close range, which came about when Fernando Muslera tipped Alejandro Guerra’s spectacular 50-yard drive onto the bar, with the ball falling conveniently for the striker to prod home.
Forced into a reaction, a nervy Uruguay side threw men forward. Lacking in ideas, however, they created just the one clear-cut opportunity, which Edinson Cavani somehow contrived to miss. Content to hit on the break, the Venezuelans passed up several chances to kill the game off, not that it mattered in the end.
Mexico’s subsequent win over Jamaica clinched a place for both them and La Vinotinto in the knockout phase, while ensuring Uruguay’s elimination. Javier Hernandez struck early to move to within one goal of equalling Jared Borgetti as El Tri’s all-time highest goalscorer. After surviving the odd scare at the back, the Mexicans sealed all three points late on thanks to Oribe Peralta’s 81st-minute strike, as they atoned for their group-phase exits at Argentina 2011 and Chile 2015.
Juan Carlos Osorio chalked up his ninth win in nine matches as Mexico coach, a sequence during which his side have scored 19 goals and let in one, that coming in their Group C opener against Uruguay.
Thursday’s victory over Jamaica also took El Tri’s unbeaten run to 21, equalling the team’s all-time record, set under Ricardo La Volpe between 2004 and 2005. Mexico’s last defeat was a 2-1 reverse at the hands of Ecuador in the group phase at the 2015 Copa America, since when they have recorded 15 wins and six draws under three different coaches: Miguel Herrera (in charge for eight of them) Ricardo Ferretti (in charge for four) and now Osorio.
In making his 113th appearance for Uruguay in the defeat to Venezuela, Maximiliano Pereira moved past Diego Forlan as the country’s most capped player. The right-back, who turned 32 on Wednesday, also holds the national record for Copa America appearances, having now run out 17 times for La Celeste at four tournaments since 2007 and forming part of the title-winning side of 2011.
In Group D, Chile defeated Bolivia 2-1 with Arturo Vidal's brace thereby bouncing back from their 1-2 loss to the Albiceleste in the first group match. They will be hoping for a good result against Panama in their last group match. Both teams are tired on three points with Panama on -4 goal difference to Chile's 0 goal difference, meaning Panama sit beneath Chile on the group while Bolivia are out already.
Argentina 5-0 Panama Otamendi, Messi returned with a hattrick and Aguero putting the icing on the cake as the Albiceleste firmly hold on to top spot and qualify for the knockout with six points.
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In the other group game, hosts
USA recorded an emphatic 4-0 defeat of Costa Rica to take a big step
forward in their bid to reach the quarter-finals. So dominant were Colombia in the first half of their meeting with Paraguay at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena that it was a surprise the result was still in doubt in the second. Carlos Bacca’s header from a corner and a James Rodriguez strike gave Los Cafeteros a deserved 2-0 lead at the break. Paraguay were transformed by coach Ramon Diaz’s substitutions, however, with one of them, Victor Ayala, pulling a goal back with a thunderous drive. The chances then flowed at both ends, and not even Oscar Romero’s sending-off gave Colombia the breathing space they craved, with the ten-man Paraguayans laying siege to the Cafetero goal in the closing stages.
In the day’s opening match, USA atoned for their underwhelming display against the Colombians with an emphatic defeat of Costa Rica in Chicago. Clint Dempsey’s early penalty settled the nerves of Jurgen Klinsmann’s side, who were 3-0 up at the break thanks to superb goals by Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood. Holding firm in the second half, the Stars and Stripes managed to extend their lead thanks to Graham Zusi’s fine finish. To check into the quarters, USA need only a point from their final game, against Paraguay, who need to win and then hope for the result in the other match to go their way. Costa Rica find themselves in a similar position, and must win big against Colombia to have any chance of progressing. In setting the hosts on the road to victory over Costa Rica with his early spot-kick, Dempsey scored the 50th goal of his 126-cap international career, his first having also come at Chicago’s Soldier Field, 11 years earlier. Dempsey is only the second USA player to reach the landmark and now lies just seven goals behind the first, Landon Donovan.
On Wednesday 8th June 2016, after opening their 2016 Copa America Centenario campaign with a goalless draw, Brazil flexed their muscles by putting seven past Haiti on Wednesday. Philippe Coutinho was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick as the Haitians tumbled out of the competition. In the day’s second and final game, Ecuador and Peru shared four goals in a thrilling draw that left Group B wide open. Los Incas surged into a two-goal lead only for La Tri to hit back and claim a crucial point.
Brazil were in command from the very start against Haiti and cruised to an easy win. Dominant in the midfield, the Brazilians looked for Philippe Coutinho every time they regained possession, giving the left-sided Liverpool man the supply he needed to torment the opposition defence.
Executing coach Dunga’s strategy to perfection, the No22
revelled in the space he was afforded, showcasing his dribbling skills
as he ran at the Haitians time and again. It was Coutinho who opened the
scoring 14 minutes in, after which A Canarinha never looked
back. The Rio de Janeiro-born wide man struck twice more, with Renato
Augusto contributing a brace and Gabriel Barbosa and Araujo Lima also
getting in on the act. Peru and Ecuador then served up a game that had everything: goals, excitement and a compelling comeback. Los Incas made a fast start, shooting into a 2-0 lead in the opening 15 minutes, causing Tri coach Gustavo Quinteros to alter his gameplan. Resisting the urge to throw themselves forward, Ecuador gradually neutralised Peru’s attacking threat, wrested control in midfield and began to fashion some chances of their own, one of which was accepted by Enner Valencia before the break, with Miller Bolanos completing the fightback at the start of the second half. Ecuador last came from two goals down in the Copa America in 1983 against Argentina.
On Thursday 9th June, Venezuela and Mexico booked their places in the quarter-finals of the Copa America Centenario. La Vinotinto sprang one of the surprises of the tournament in beating Uruguay 1-0, while Mexico eased to a 2-0 win over Jamaica. With two wins apiece in Group C, the pair will fight it out for top spot in the section in Houston next Monday. In tumbling out of the competition with the Jamaicans, 15-time champions Uruguay suffered their first group-phase elimination since Bolivia 1997.
La Vinotinto owed their first Copa America defeat of La Celeste in nine attempts to Rondon’s tap-in from close range, which came about when Fernando Muslera tipped Alejandro Guerra’s spectacular 50-yard drive onto the bar, with the ball falling conveniently for the striker to prod home.
Forced into a reaction, a nervy Uruguay side threw men forward. Lacking in ideas, however, they created just the one clear-cut opportunity, which Edinson Cavani somehow contrived to miss. Content to hit on the break, the Venezuelans passed up several chances to kill the game off, not that it mattered in the end.
Mexico’s subsequent win over Jamaica clinched a place for both them and La Vinotinto in the knockout phase, while ensuring Uruguay’s elimination. Javier Hernandez struck early to move to within one goal of equalling Jared Borgetti as El Tri’s all-time highest goalscorer. After surviving the odd scare at the back, the Mexicans sealed all three points late on thanks to Oribe Peralta’s 81st-minute strike, as they atoned for their group-phase exits at Argentina 2011 and Chile 2015.
Juan Carlos Osorio chalked up his ninth win in nine matches as Mexico coach, a sequence during which his side have scored 19 goals and let in one, that coming in their Group C opener against Uruguay.
Thursday’s victory over Jamaica also took El Tri’s unbeaten run to 21, equalling the team’s all-time record, set under Ricardo La Volpe between 2004 and 2005. Mexico’s last defeat was a 2-1 reverse at the hands of Ecuador in the group phase at the 2015 Copa America, since when they have recorded 15 wins and six draws under three different coaches: Miguel Herrera (in charge for eight of them) Ricardo Ferretti (in charge for four) and now Osorio.
In making his 113th appearance for Uruguay in the defeat to Venezuela, Maximiliano Pereira moved past Diego Forlan as the country’s most capped player. The right-back, who turned 32 on Wednesday, also holds the national record for Copa America appearances, having now run out 17 times for La Celeste at four tournaments since 2007 and forming part of the title-winning side of 2011.
In Group D, Chile defeated Bolivia 2-1 with Arturo Vidal's brace thereby bouncing back from their 1-2 loss to the Albiceleste in the first group match. They will be hoping for a good result against Panama in their last group match. Both teams are tired on three points with Panama on -4 goal difference to Chile's 0 goal difference, meaning Panama sit beneath Chile on the group while Bolivia are out already.
Argentina 5-0 Panama Otamendi, Messi returned with a hattrick and Aguero putting the icing on the cake as the Albiceleste firmly hold on to top spot and qualify for the knockout with six points.
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