Looking ahead of the Copa America 2021 quarterfinals, Kick360 assessed what each team did to qualify for the last-eight.
In this occasion, Copa America 2021 played in two groups of 5 teams each. For the first time in the last 30 years, the oldest tournament has just Conmebol National Soccer Teams.
Qatar and Australia were the international guests for this 47th edition, which was initially scheduled for 2020 but due the pandemic it was postponed by one year.
QUARTERFINALS
Perú v Paraguay
Brazil v Chile
Uruguay v Colombia
Argentina v Ecuador
PERU V PARAGUAY
Saturday 3 July, 07:00 AEST
Perú: Since Ricardo Gareca began his reign with the Peruvian Soccer Team, they have just won one game against Venezuela, their final opponent in the group stage.
André Carillo (48’) scored the solitary goal of the game. Perú had 56.9% of the ball and their pass accuracy was 86.5%. They qualified to quarterfinals of Copa America 2021 second in Group B, just behind Brazil.
Paraguay: Paraguay is the team with more average shots every game at 17. Even though La Albirroja finished their group in the third place with just six points after losing the game with Uruguay.
BRAZIL V CHILE
Saturday 3 July, 10:00 AEST
Brazil: Ecuador was the hardest team in this group stage of Copa America. With Neymar on substitute list, Brazil scored through Eder Militao (37’) but in the second half, Ecuador reacted and Angel Mena (53’) equalised.
The Verde Amarelha qualified early to the quarterfinals with strong performances against Venezuela (3-0), Perú (4-0) and Colombia (2-1) of the Group B. In their final game of the group stage, they gave rest to some players with the quarterfinals in mind.
Chile: La Roja qualified last in their Group after two draws Argentina and Uruguay, one victory against Bolivia and one loss against Paraguay. Their last game finished with three Chilean players injured.
Manager Martin Lasarte had to replace Guillermo Maripan and is waiting for Alexis Sanchez to be ready for the fixture. Chile will have to make hard decisions if they want to have any chance to beat the powerful host of the Copa America 2021.
URUGUAY V COLOMBIA
Sunday 3 July 08:00 AEST
Uruguay: Edinson Cavani (20’, penalty) was the solitary goal in their 1-0 victory against Paraguay. This last match in Group A was integral to the makeup of the quarterfinals.
La Celeste qualified as second in their group, only losing to Argentina in their first game of Copa America.
Colombia: Colombia: Beforehand Colombia were deemed as a team bound for the quarterfinals, but it was harder than everyone thought. The last game with Brazil had everything: a draw on 90 minutes but the winner for the Brazilians was scored in extra time. The numbers are clear: Brazil had 69% ball possession against just the 31% of Colombia.
Los Cafeteros qualified third in their Group B with just 4 points, after defeating Ecuador, drawing against Venezuela and losing against Perú and Brazil.
ARGENTINA V ECUADOR
Sunday 4 July, 11:00 AEST
Argentina: After winning their final Group A game, Argentina qualified as first in its group to the quarterfinals of Copa America 2021.
They did not lose any game in the group phase; they have three wins and one draw against Chile. But in their last game, the Albiceleste were impressive against Bolivia. Argentina won 4-1 with a brilliant Lionel Messi performance, who scored twice (33’, penalty; 42’).
With these two goals, he reached 148 international games played and 75 goals scored which solidified Messi’s place in footballing history.
Ecuador: It was the first time in their history that Ecuador achieved three draws in a row on Copa America. They just lost 1-0 against Colombia and then they collected three points through successive draws. Their last game was against the host of Copa America, which gave Ecuador the chance to break the ten game winning streak of Brazil.
