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9. Costa Rica
Needing snookers to progress, Costa Rica did their part with a 2-1 win over Paraguay – only for Brazil’s draw with Colombia to eliminate them from the tournament.
“This was a very tough group. We were playing against Brazil and Colombia, two of the four favourites to win the Copa,” Costa Rica coach Gustavo Alfaro told reporters.
“We had our strengths, our achievements and our mistakes, but we grew and we’re analysing the performance rather than the results.
“The important thing is that we learn and that this was a very short tournament that we had to seize to the fullest.”
With a squad that wasn’t expected to do well, Costa Rica can be heartened by their performance before resuming their World Cup qualifying campaign.
8. Panama
Panama sealed their place in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Bolivia, sparking scenes of wild celebrations among their players and supporters.
Jose Fajardo opened the scoring for Panama while substitutes Eduardo Guerrero and Cesar Yanis scored late to seal all three points to send the CONCACAF side through.
“Football is daily suffering, but today there was a lot at stake,” Panama boss Thomas Christiansen told reporters. “We knew that not even a win guaranteed that we would make it to the quarter-finals after the first goal.
“Our performance dropped at times … they (Bolivia) began to control the game and they scored. We started to get a bit more anxious.
“But we reacted quickly. Our players were able to overcome those odds and the substitutions made a huge difference.”
7. Ecuador
Only needing a point against Mexico to progress, Ecuador eeked out a 0-0 draw without coming close to impressing – not that they’ll give a solitary eff about that.
Their reward for finishing second in Group B is a quarter-final against Argentina; intimidating, but springing a surprise isn’t beyond a team of Ecuador’s capabilities.
We are going to have to play a perfect game, but we go into it motivated,” coach Felix Sanchez at the prospect of meeting the holders.
“It’s 11 vs 11 and we are going to do everything we possibly can.”
6. Canada
The match against Chile was rarely pretty, but Canada secured the 0-0 draw that took them into the quarter-finals.
Jesse Marsch’s side have shown the pleasing ability to switch from easy-on-the-eye passing to ugly defending when required, meaning they have a puncher’s chance of beating Venezuela in their next match.
5. Brazil
Failure to beat Colombia has consigned Brazil to second place in Group D – and a quarter-final against Uruguay.
Raphinha opened the scoring with a sumptuous free-kick, but Daniel Munoz’s equaliser saw the match finish 1-1 and the Brazilians rue a series of missed chances.
Even more worryingly, Vinicius Jr will be suspended for the quarters after picking up a second booking of the tournament. Not ideal.
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4. Venezuela
This year’s surprise package, Venezuela completed the group stage with three wins from three as they beat Jamaica 3-0 courtesy of three second-half goals.
Strikes from Eduard Bello, Salomon Rondon and Eric Ramirez ensured the side who have never qualified for a World Cup topped Group B and set up a winnable quarter-final against Canada.
3. Colombia
After an edge-of-your-seat draw with Brazil, Colombia won Group D and face a quarter-final against Panama that could not look more inviting if it was served on a silver platter.
Coming into the tournament on a long unbeaten run, the Colombians have lived up to the billing with James Rodriguez pulling the strings in a throwback playmaker role.
While Colombia should get through the quarters, a tantalising match against Brazil or Uruguay would await on the difficult half of the draw.
2. Uruguay
Uruguay ended the group stage with a narrow win over the United States, eliminating the hosts from their own competition.
Despite manager Marcelo Bisela being banned from the touchline, La Celeste won the game through Mathias Olivera’s second-half strike and they’ll feel confident heading into the quarters with three victories and nine goals scored.
1. Argentina
No Messi, no problem; Argentina cruised to the Copa America quarterfinals as Group A winners following a satisfactory 2-0 win over Peru in Miami.
Lautaro Martinez scored twice and is now the tournament’s top scorer, while the defending champions took the opportunity to rotate their starting XI – which could prove wise in oppressive conditions.
“Today we have seen many players who had not had game time,” assistant coach Walter Samuel said afterwards. “We have now used almost the whole squad. Now comes the next round [against Ecuador] and we need to be ready.”
Source link : https://www.planetfootball.com/lists-and-rankings/copa-america-group-stage-power-ranking-argentina-usmnt-brazil
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Publish date : 2024-07-03 11:00:04
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