2011 Copa America Group Stage Recap

The 2011 Copa America competition kicked off at the start of the month as tournament hosts and favorites Argentina faced off against Bolivia. This tournament represents the South American national football championship and it's being contested by 12 countries. Of the 12 nations, 10 of them make up the South American football association (CONMEBOL) while 2 nations were invited from the CONCACAF association representing North and Central America; those 2 nations are Mexico and Costa Rica. 

Spain were sent an invitation months earlier to participate in the tournament and despite offering their thanks and honor for being invited, they decided to turn down the offer. Japan was initially set to participate, but given the tragic events inflicting the nation, they decided to withdraw. 

Of the 12 nations, 8 will advance from the 3 groups to make up the quarter-finals of the tournament. Will the usual suspects make it through? Can Argentina finally get over the hump and impress at home? Will Brazil once again dominate? Or will a dark-horse emerge and claim the Copa America?

As mentioned above, Argentina kicked off the tournament against Bolivia in a match which featured 2 Group A opponents. The other 2 nations which made up Group A were Colombia and Costa Rica. Argentina came into this tournament heavily favored to take the group backed by their contingent of super-stars which included FIFA Balon d'Or winner Lionel Messi and in being the host nation. However, they would struggle early on with draws to both Bolivia and Colombia. The Bolivia match was one which led the side to be heavily criticized as they were not able to score despite creating a plethora of chances.  

Colombia came away with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica, but were also seen to be unimpressive as they're talisman Falcão seemed rather ineffective against a Costa Rican side which is considered to be one of the tournaments weaker sides. The next round of fixtures in the group saw the 2 favorites square off as Argentina and Colombia looked to set themselves apart from one another; however, the 2 cancelled each other out as we were yet again forced to watch a dreadful draw featuring no goals. However, Colombia at this point had taken 4 points out of 6 in comparison to Argentina's 2 out of 6. Costa Rica and Bolivia took on each other in the other less attractive fixture, but to the surprise of many were the ones who put on the better show as Costa Rica knocked 2 goals in to win by that margin. 

Argentina-Colombia: Both sides frustrated after a 0-0 finish.

The final group A fixtures provided Argentina with a chance to redeem their thus far lack-luster performance or head home...I suppose stay home would be the right way to say that. Anyhow, Colombia took on Bolivia knowing a win would clinch them the group and I suppose something finally clicked as Falcão began showing some of that form we were all accustomed to during the UEFA Europa League as he took away the match honors in a 2-0 victory scoring both goals. It was now Argentina's turn to turn on and they didn't disappoint as Costa Rica were no match despite holding on early in the match. Lionel Messi turned provider as he was instrumental in all 3 of Argentina's goals which saw them thrash Costa Rica 3-0 and advance to the quarter-finals. It should be noted though that the score-line could have been much worse with all of the wasted chances Argentina had throughout the match.

Group B featured favorites and defending champions Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay and Ecuador. If some were frustrated with the way Argentina had played in their first 2 matches then only more frustration would be added on by Brazil. In the first 2 fixtures of the group, Brazil took on Venezuela while Paraguay took on Ecuador and fans were left bemused by 2 0-0 finishes. Paraguay and Ecuador were both playing cautiously in their fixture whereas Brazil just couldn't managed to finish off their chances in a match where Venezuela was lucky to escape without conceding several. 

Brazil looked to bounce back against Paraguay in their 2nd fixture, but faltered yet again. This time they needed a life-line from substitute Fred in the 89th minute to salvage a point in a match which they managed to let get away from them. They had taken the lead early on to only see that lead disappear as Paraguay scored twice 12 minutes. Brazil's defensive holes are seeming to be much larger than once thought. Meanwhile, the group's other fixture saw Venezuela take on Ecuador in a match which would see the victor claiming the top spot in the group. It was a match very much lacking in attack in comparison to that of Brazil-Paraguay; however, Venezuela were able to pull of a shock as they won 1-0.

The final fixtures of the group would see Brazil take on Ecuador and Paraguay against Venezuela. A Venezuelan victory would see them incredibly win the group while Brazil were in a must win situation. Paraguay and Venezuela gave us perhaps the best match of the tournament thus far and amazingly considering the group has shown us rather poor matches thus far. With only extra-time looming, Paraguay held a 3-1 lead on Venezuela when the seemingly impossible began to occur; Venezuela pulled one back in the 89th minute cutting it to a 1 goal deficit and then disaster occurred for Paraguay as they conceded the tying goal in less than a minute after the other. The draw clinched Venezuela a spot in the quarter-finals and could still be enough for Paraguay.

Neymar scores against Ecuador.

Brazil came into the match against Ecuador knowing that a victory would see them clinch the group and they wasted no time as AC Milan forward Pato started the scoring. However, they were pegged back by Ecuador and level going into half-time. The 2nd half started off just as the first did as Brazil continued to dominate play and Neymar finally converted giving Brazil the lead again; however, Ecuador would once again frustrate the Brazilians as within 10 minutes of Neymar's strike, they would once again equalize through Felipe Caicedo's 2nd goal of the match. However, Brazil would prove to be too much for Ecuador as both Pato and Neymar would cement braces in a 4-2 finish. Brazil would top the group and go through with Venezuela. However, Brazil's performance will be marred once again by their lapses in defense which may very well cost them dearly in the upcoming knock-out fixtures. 

Group C featured perhaps the most intriguing group of nations as I truly believed this group was the most open of all. It featured 2010 World Cup 4th place finishers Uruguay along with  Chile, Peru and CONCACAF's Mexico. Mexico had just come off a Gold Cup win and were enforced to field a "B" squad under CONCACAF guidelines. The 1st series of fixtures saw Chile take on Mexico while Uruguay met with Peru. Mexico took a surprise early lead on Chile only to see them fall 2-1 while Uruguay was met by a stingy Peru who fought them to a 1-1 draw after surprisingly taking the lead.

The 2nd set of fixtures would see Peru take on Mexico while Uruguay took on Chile. Peru was in good position for a possible quarter-final berth after holding Uruguay to a draw and took full advantage of the opportunity. Despite dominating the match, it took Peru 82 minutes to find their goal which put them on top on 4 points. Meanwhile, Uruguay and Chile demonstrated why they both should be considered contenders along with Argentina and Brazil in an entertaining match. Despite the talent present on both sides, we were locked at 0-0 going into the half. Alvaro Pereira finally broke the deadlock on 54 minutes who collected a beautifully orchestrated pass from Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. However, their lead would only last momentarily as Chile's young phenom Alexis Sanchez would level matters and the match would end like that in a 1-1 draw sending Chile joint on top with Peru while Uruguay much like Argentina and Brazil had drawn their first 2 matches. 

The 3rd set of fixtures featured matches between Uruguay and Mexico and Peru and Chile. With Peru and Chile already qualified for the next round, they both fielded reserve players and still managed to give us some late drama as an own-goal from Peru gave Chile the top spot in the group. Meanwhile, Uruguay and Mexico faced off for the final spot in the knockout round. Uruguay knew a 1 goal victory would be enough for them as Costa Rica's goal-differential was negative; however, Mexico would need to score twice in order to progress along with holding a clean sheet. It already seemed like too much to overcome for this reserve Mexican side and although they fought to the end, Alvaro Pereira's early strike proved to be enough to see Uruguay move on.

Thus was completed the group stage of the 2011 Copa America. Colombia and Argentina progressed from Group A, Brazil and Venezuela from Group B, Chile and Uruguay from Group C. Both Paraguay and Peru also advanced to the quarter-finals as the 2 best 3rd place sides. 

The quarter-finals are set for this weekend:

Saturday, July 16th - Colombia v Peru @ 3 PM ET , Argentina v Uruguay @ 6:15 PM ET 

Sunday, July 17th - Brazil v Paraguay @ 3 PM ET , Chile v Venezuela @ 6:15 PM ET


If you're looking for Copa America gear? Jerseys of your favorite country? Click here!
    
























Also check out Millwall Rule's Top 5 from FIFA's Top 50!
Peru's Top 5 is already up! Visit this link to see it.