Colombia advanced to their first Copa America semi final since 2004 after winning 4-2 on a tiebreaker against a doggedly determined Peruvian side which refused to yield to Colombia's attacking threat till the 90th minute in New Jersey's Metlife Stadium.
Group B of the Copa America has been decided on the wee hours of Monday morning, and the biggest surprise is that Brazil have been knocked out of the tournament, after suffering a narrow loss to Peru, after a controversial goal by Raul Ruidiaz.
A goal from the Sporting Lisbon Forward and the former Bayern Munich Striker, ensured Los Incas ended the tournament in respectable fashion, while an abject Paraguay succumbed to yet another defeat.
Paolo Guerrero fired Peru to a third place play-off victory over Paraguay here Friday to stay in the hunt for Copa America tournament top-scorer honours. The Flamengo striker, top-scorer at the 2011 Copa America, bagged his fourth goal of this year’s tournament with a late strike as Peru completed a 2-0 victory. The goal saw Guerrero join Chile’s Eduardo Vargas as joint top-scorer. The 31-year-old’s 25th international goal has also edged him closer to overhauling Peru legend Teofilo Cubillas’s national record of 26 goals. Peru’s other goal came from Andre Carrillo in the 48th minute. A dangerous corner by Peru’s highly rated midfielder Christian Cueva was headed into the path of Carrillo by Paraguay’s Raul Bobadilla. The 24-year-old met the clearance with a sweetly struck volley which flew into the bottom corner past the dive of Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar. Paraguay, thrashed 6-1 by Argentina in the semi-finals, raised their game fleetingly and almost snatched an equaliser on 68 […]
Eduardo Vargas scored twice as Chile downed fierce rivals Peru 2-1 here Monday to reach the Copa America final for the first time in nearly 30 years despite stars Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal having a subdued night. Vargas, who endured a miserable season on loan at relegated English Premier League side Queens Park Rangers, lashed in a stunning 64th-minute strike as the hosts advanced to the final for the first time since 1987. Vargas had given Chile a controversial lead after 42 minutes, prodding home from close range after the referee’s assistant failed to spot a fractional offside. Peru, who played most of the match with 10 men after Carlos Zambrano was sent off for a reckless challenge on Charles Aranguiz after 20 minutes, came back bravely to force an equaliser through a Gary Medel own goal in the 60th minute. But Vargas, who also had a legitimate goal wrongly ruled out for offside early in the second half, […]
The latest installment of one of South American football’s fiercest rivalries plays out at the Copa America on Monday when hosts Chile face Peru with a place in the final at stake. Matches between the two neighbors are known as the “Clasico del Pacifico” and are played against a backdrop of historical enmity that dates back more than a century to the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific. Chile and Peru also fought a long-running legal battle over the two nations’ disputed maritime border. On the football field, at least, the rivalry began in 1935, but the animosity pre-dates that first encounter by several decades. Most famously, differences of opinion remain to this day over which country is responsible for the invention of the bicycle kick. Chileans say they invented it in a 1914 match, christening the overhead volley as “La Chilena”. Peruvians see it differently, arguing that in fact it was first tried in the port city of Callao in […]
Juan Manuel Vargas says Arsenal FC star Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas “aren’t anything special” as Peru prepare to face Chile in the Copa America semi-finals. Peru booked their spot in the semi finals with a 3-1 win over Bolivia on Thursday, setting up a meeting with the hosts Chile at the Estadio Nacional on Monday. Juan Manuel Vargas is confident of tackling the attacking qualitis in the Chile side, who have scored 11 goals in four games – so far in the tournament. “Against them we have to play our own game. I’ve already played against Alexis and Vargas and they are not anything special,” the Fiorentina man told reporters. “We still have three days to go, so let’s think about ourselves and correct our mistakes.” Key to their victory over Bolivia was Paolo Guerrero, who netted a hat-trick, and he expects Los Incas to continue their impressive form and face Chile on an equal level in Santiago. “We have been playing well. We’re […]
Paolo Guerrero's hattrick saw Peru ease past Bolivia into the semi-finals of the 2015 Copa America where they will meet Alexis Sanchez led Chile
Brazilian-based striker Paolo Guerrero scored a hat trick as Peru swept aside Bolivia 3-1 to set up a Copa America semi-final showdown with fierce rivals Chile on Thursday.
Bolivia and Peru are both not football powerhouses of South America but both find themselves with a chance to reach a step closer to the final of the competition.
