Soccer By Ives

Uruguay rolls to Copa America title

By FRANCO PANIZO

If getting to the semifinals in last year's World Cup wasn't proof enough that Uruguay was once again a force to be reckoned with, its win in the Copa America final likely was. 

Uruguay lifted a record 15th Copa America trophy on Sunday, disposing of Paraguay 3-0 in a match it controlled from the opening whistle. Diego Forlan scored twice and Luis Suarez netted one of his own to break the deadlock between Uruguay and Argentina, each of which entered the tournament with 14 Copa America titles.

Suarez opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a left footed finish that stung off the far post and went in, and Forlan doubled Uruguay's lead with his first goal in over a year three minutes prior to halftime with a left-footed finish. Forlan also put the nail in Paraguay's coffin with a goal in the waning moments of the match.

Paraguay, which had not won a game in regulation or extra time in the tournament, struggled to impose itself offensively against a stout Uruguay defense. The Paraguayans came closest to scoring in the second half off a shot from Naelson Haedo Valdez, but it hit the crossbar.

Here are the highlights from Uruguay's historic win:

Guerrero hat-trick gives Peru third place

By FRANCO PANIZO

Peru and Venezuela exceeded expectations in the Copa America, and both teams entered the tournament's third-place match hoping to put an exclamtion point on their surprise showings.

The Peruvians were the ones to do that as a hat-trick from Paolo Guerrero gave Peru a 4-1 victory and the bronze medals on Saturday. Guerrero, who won Man of the Match honors, also assisted on Peru's first goal in a match that gave Peru its best finish at a Copa America since it won the tournament in 1975.

Peru jumped out in front just before halftime when William Chiroque finished off a pass from Guerrero, who went on to score three goals in the second half. Venezuela, which finished the game with 10 men after Tomas Rincon received a red card, had its lone goal come from Juan Arango.

Guerrero is now the tournament's top scorer with five goals. Uruguay's Luis Suarez and Argentina's Sergio Aguero are tied for second with three each.

Here are the match highlights:

Copa America: Villar leads stingy Paraguay to final clash with Uruguay

By DAVID MOSSE

Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar has emerged as an unlikely hero in this 2011 Copa America after helping his team earn another shootout victory on Wednesday against Venezuela. Gerardo Martino's side has yet to claim a single victory in five games but will take on Uruguay next with an opportunity to capture its first Copa America title since 1979, and Villar figures to be busy again.

The 34-year-old keeper stopped Franklin Lucena's shot for the only miss of the shootout following a scoreless draw in which Venezuela created the better chances, including hitting the woodwork twice. Nicolas Fedor and Salomon Rondon also forced tremendous saves from Villar, while Gabriel Cichero fired just wide on another occasion, as Venezuela came agonizingly close to reaching its first final.

Los Guaranies looked slightly more dangerous than in the quarterfinal against Brazil, but the injury to Roque Santa Cruz has wreaked havoc to a potentially explosive attack. Santa Cruz did come on in the second half only to exit soon after and his status for Sunday is unclear, which is bad news for both Lucas Barrios and Marcelo Estigarribia, as Paraguay needs to regain its form. It'll need to do so without Martino's guidance as well, as the manager was given a two-game ban for his actions in the post-match brawl after the semifinal. Martino will be in the stands for the final.

Paraguay advances to final with penalty kick win over Venezuela

 

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

For the second straight game Paraguay had the game taken to them by its opponent. For the second straight game Paraguay was held scoreless. And for the second straight game, Pararaguay persevered and won on penalty kicks.

Paraguay advanced to the Copa America final on Wednesday night with a 5-3 penalty kick win over Venezuela following a scoreless tie. Justo Villar's save on Franklin Lucena's effort allowed Dario Veron to hit the winning spot kick in a game that marked Paraguay's return to the tournament final for the first time since 1979.

Venezuela, which is arguebaly the tournament's biggest surprise, forced the issue for much of the game, and could have come away with a win had a pair of shots not hit the crossbar. The Venezuelans even looked to have scored in regulation, but a header from Oswaldo Vizcarrondo unluckily hit Jose Rondon before going in and Rondon was ruled offside.

But Paraguay, which has yet to win a game in regulation or extra time in this tournament, held on to force a shootout, just as it did against Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Following the conclusion of the penalty kicks a brawl broke out between the teams, but no players were ejected.

Paraguay's win means it will take on Uruguay in the final on July 24 while Venezuela and Peru will square off in the third-place match a day earlier.

Here are highlights from the game:

Suarez brace sees Uruguay defeat Peru to advance to final

By FRANCO PANIZO

Uruguay's strong run of form continued in the Copa America semifinals, and Peru was Los Charruas' latest victim.

Uruguay stayed unbeaten at the Copa America and reached the tournament final on Tuesday night, beating Peru 2-0 on a pair of goals from Luis Suarez scored five minutes apart.

Having played to a 1-1 draw in group play earlier in the tournament, Uruguay and Peru were in a similar circumstance as Tuesday's semifinal went into halftime scoreless.

But seven minutes after the intermission Uruguay jumped out in front when Suarez capitalized on an error by goalkeeper Raul Fernandez. Suarez doubled the lead minutes later, getting behind the Peruvian back line and racing in on goal alone before getting by an oncoming Fernandez and shooting the ball into an empty net. Peru lost any chance at a comeback when Juan Manuel Vargas was ejected in the 68th minute for a blatant elbow on Walter Gargano.

The win places Uruguay, which finished fourth in last summer's World Cup, in the final on July 24 against the victor of Wednesday's Paraguay-Venezuela clash. Peru will play the loser of the semifinal match for third place on July 23.

Here are highlight's from Uruguay's 2-0 win:

Copa America: Who will win?

The Copa America is down to four teams, but not the four teams would have expected.

Okay, Uruguay probably isn't the biggest underdog considering it just finished fourth at the 2010 World Cup, but most would have pegged Argentina to knock off Luis Suarez and Co. in the quarterfinals. In fact, all four semifinalists won matches they weren't expected to win.

Now we have Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela doing battle for the 2011 Copa America championship, a trophy Argentina and Brazil were expected to battle for before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

With the semifinals kicking off tonight with Peru taking on Uruguay, it seemed natural to ask our readers who they see winning this tournament? Think Uruguay's class will prevail, or do you see Peru or Venezuela completing a stunning tournament run?

Cast your vote below:

Copa America semifinals: A Look Ahead

By DAVID MOSSE

Uruguay is now in the somewhat unenviable position of being regarded as the favorite to win the 2011 Copa America following a remarkable quarterfinal round that saw both Argentina and Brazil crash out on penalties. The Celeste must guard against any kind of letdown after knocking out the hosts on Saturday in a pulsating encounter that will probably go down as the match of the tournament.

The quarterfinal exit represents an incredible failure for Argentina, which remains without a senior trophy since 1993, while Uruguay continues its resurgence as a major power that began with the fourth-place finish in last summer's World Cup in South Africa. Next up is a clash with an unexpected opponent.

In a tournament full of surprises, the emergence of Peru is perhaps the biggest shock of all after the country finished dead last in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Peru was also rocked by injuries heading into the competition with strikers Claudio Pizarro and Jefferson Farfan both ruled out, along with midfielder Luis Ramirez and defender Jesus Rabanal, a strong candidate to man the left-back position.

Paolo Guerrero and Juan Vargas have assumed most of the responsibility offensively, while manager Sergio Markarian deserves credit for the defensive solidity, as Peru has conceded just five goals in 14 games since he took charge.

Copa America: Paraguay outdoes Brazil in penalties, Venezuela eliminates Chile

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

If you would've bet before the Copa America that neither Argentina nor Brazil would make the final, you likely would have been called delusional.

That will be the case though, as Brazil lost 2-0 on penalty kicks to Paraguay in a quarterfinal match on Sunday.

The two teams, which tied in their Group B game earlier in the tournament, played to a scoreless draw before Brazil missed all four of its penalty kicks in the shootout. Marcelo Estigarribia and Christian Riveros scored on their shots for Paraguay while Elano, Thiago Silva, Andre Santos and Fred all failed to convert.

Brazil dominated much of the possession and chances in the game, but could not find the break-through goal. Both teams were reduced to 10 men after an altercation in extra time ended with the ejections of Antolin Alcaraz and Lucas Leiva.

The defending champion, Brazil now joins co-favorite Argentina as spectators for the rest of the tournament. Paraguay advances to the semifinals where it will take on Venezuela on June 20 after the Venezuelans upset Chile 2-1 in Sunday's second quarterfinal bout.

Here are full match highlights of Brazil's loss as well as a recap of Venezuela's victory over Chile:

Argentina eliminated on penalties to Uruguay, Peru stuns Colombia

By FRANCO PANIZO

Not even homefield advantage was enough to help Argentina put an end to its trophy drought.

Argentina was knocked out of the Copa America at the Santa Fe Stadium on Saturday night, losing to Uruguay, 5-4, in a penalty kick shootout after playing to a 1-1 draw. Carlos Tevez was the lone spot kick taker to miss in a game that put an end to Argentina's hopes of winning its first international tournament since the 1993 Copa America.

After Diego Perez and Gonzalo Higuain scored in the first half, both teams entered extra time with 10 men as Perez and Javier Mascherano were ejected with double bookings. Perez was sent off in the 38th minute and Mascherano was given his marching orders four minutes from the death.

The 30 extra minutes ended without a goal and the game headed to penalty kicks, where Fernando Muslera was the hero. Muslera, who opted to look away every time his teammates shot from the spot, dove to his right to deny Tevez in the third round of penalties, which ultimately sent Uruguay to the semifinals.

Uruguay will play Peru in the semis on July 19 after the Peruvians booked their place in the final four with a win over Colombia in Saturday's first game.

Here are the match highlights as well as a recap of Peru's victory over Colombia:

Soccer Saturday: Your Running Commentary

After unloading on Costa Rica in its final group stage match, Argentina heads into the knock-out rounds of Copa American looking like a team capable of winning the trophy.

The first step in the knockout rounds will pit the 'Albiceleste' against Uruguay, the fourth-place finishers in the 2010 World Cup. Led by Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, Uruguay finished in second place in its group, just as Argentina did.

MLS will be in full swing as well, with seven matches on the slate. The Seattle Sounders take on the Colorado Rapids in their first meeting since Brian Mullan's leg-breaking tackle on Steve Zakuani, while FC Dallas plays host to D.C. United in another promising match-up. The World Football Challenge will give us the highly-anticipated rematch of Real Madrid against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

If you will be watching any of today's action, please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today's TV Schedule is after the jump):

Copa America: A look ahead to the quarterfinals

By DAVID MOSSE

Argentina and Brazil may well end up meeting in the final of the 2011 Copa America as most people envisioned before the start of the tournament, but the days of the two countries towering over the competition in South America appear to be over. Argentina at least managed one convincing performance in its final group game, yet the level of satisfaction over brushing side Costa Rica's Under-22 side was a testament to how tense the situation had become.

The hosts began with a disappointing draw against Bolivia and were incredibly lucky to avoid defeat at the hands of Colombia, which ended up topping Group A. Lionel Messi is still searching for his first goal and Carlos Tevez has indeed been dropped. Sergio Aguero appears to be the chief attacking threat for Argentina, while Colombia is the only team yet to concede a goal and, not surprisingly, is relying on the talents of Falcao Garcia up front.

Some of the most fascination action took place in Group C with Peru performing much better than anticipated, despite the absence of strikers Claudio Pizarro and Jefferson Farfan due to injury. Mexico goes home without a point in its worst Copa America display ever, as Giovani dos Santos was unable to carry an under-strength squad, while group favorites Chile and Uruguay played well enough in spurts to earn passage into the knockout phase.

The Uruguayans are paying the price for Diego Forlan's noticeable drop in form since the last World Cup, and Chile missed the presence of Matias Fernandez in the final two group games after the Sporting Lisbon star limped out of the opener against Mexico. Fernandez is hopeful of returning for the next round, which would be welcome news for Alexis Sanchez, who is just one of several stars still looking to make their mark on this competition.

Here is a closer look at the four quarterfinal matchups:

Brazil wins to claim Group B, Venezuela ties in thriller on final day of first round

By FRANCO PANIZO

12 combined goals, a last-second comeback and an assist from a goalkeeper.

Those were just some of the highlights on an eventful Wednesday night as group play in the Copa America came to a close. Brazil took first place in Group B and eliminated Ecuador with a 4-2 triumph over La Tri, while Venezuela scored two goals in the final three minutes of its thrilling match against Paraguay to earn a 3-3 draw.

Having tied in its two previous games, Brazil recorded its first win of the tournament in a game that saw three players grab braces. Alexandre Pato and Neymar each netted twice as Brazil finished group play on top with five points and a +2 goal differential (outdoing second-place Venezuela on five points and +1 goal differential). Felipe Caicedo scored both of Ecuador's goals, but he couldn't stop his country from finishing in fourth place on 1 point.

In the first game of the night, Venezuela jumped out to a 1-0 lead through a Jose Rondon goal after just five minutes . But Paraguay responded with three goals, the last of which came in the 86th when Christian Riveros headed home a free kick.

Then disaster struck for the Paraguayans as Venezuela was able to rally with goals in the 90th and 92nd minutes. Nicolas Fedor started the late comeback with a right-footed shot inside the penalty area. That was followed by a corner kick in stoppage time that was headed down by Venezuela goalkeeper Renny Vega to Grenddy Perozo, who headed the ball over the goal line for the draw.

The result left Paraguay in third place on three points, but it advanced to the quarterfinals on goal differential over Costa Rica.

Here are all the quarterfinal match-ups as well as highlights from both of Wednesday's games:

Uruguay sets up match with Argentina after beating Mexico, Chile tops Peru

By FRANCO PANIZO

Uruguay wasted a number of chances, but Alvaro Pereira's goal was enough to give Los Charruas a 1-0 win over Mexico and set up a mouth-watering quarterfinals match against Argentina.

Pereira gave Uruguay three points in the final game of Group C on Tuesday night when he netted his second goal of the tournament in the 14th minute. Pereira pounced on a rebound and knocked the ball in from inside the six yard box with his left foot.

The victory, combined with Chile's win over Peru in the first game of the night, lifted Uruguay to second place in the group with five points. It also set up an appetizing quarterfinals date against Argentina, which finished second in Group A. The game will be played on Saturday, July 16.

Mexico was eliminated from the competition with the loss, finishing fourth in the group and dead last in the tournament after failing to secure a single point.

Here are the game highlights as well as a recap of Chile's win versus Peru:

Soccer Tuesday: Your Running Commentary

Three spots in the U.S. Open cup semifinals will be claimed by the night's end, and the Copa America picture will clear up a bit as well, as Group C co-leaders Chile and Peru square off and Uruguay faces Mexico in their final games in the group stage. The summer club friendly schedule also continues, as the San Jose Earthquakes host Premier League club West Brom.

Here's the schedule for the night's matches:

6 p.m. - Streaming video - Chicago Fire vs. New York Red Bulls

6:15 p.m. - Telefutura/YouTube - Chile vs. Peru

8:30 p.m. - Streaming video - Sporting Kansas City vs. Richmond Kickers

8:45 p.m. - Univision/YouTube - Uruguay vs. Mexico

9 p.m. - Streaming video - FC Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake

10:30 p.m. - Streaming audio - San Jose Earthquakes vs. West Brom

If you will be tuning in to any of Tuesday night's matches, please feel free to share any thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. Enjoy the action.

Copa America Rewind: Argentina finally wins, Colombia takes Group A and more

By FRANCO PANIZO

It took longer than expected, but Argentina finally had a reason to celebrate.

Argentina recorded its first win of the Copa America, topping Costa Rica, 3-0, on Monday night in the final match of Group A. The victory advanced the albiceleste to the quarterfinals as it finished in second place of the group with five points.

Leo Messi had two assists and Sergio Aguero bagged a brace in the victory. Angel Di Maria scored the other goal.

Argentina looked to go into halftime at 0-0 after wasting several chances, but Sergio Aguero broke the deadlock just before the interval when he knocked in a rebound. The Argentines then took control of the game in the second half with Messi assisting on goals from Aguero and Di Maria.

Costa Rica finishes group play in third place with three points, but can still advance to the knockout phase if it is one of the two best third-place teams.

Here are highlight's from Argentina's win as well as more recent results from the Copa America:

Copa America Rewind: Peru tops Mexico, Chile and Uruguay tie and more

By FRANCO PANIZO

Peru's finishing may have been subpar, but that didn't stop Sergio Markarian's men from grabbing three points and a share of first place in Group C.

Jose Paolo Guerrero scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Mexico on Friday night, a result that tied the Peruvians with Chile for first place in the group with four points apiece. Guerrero's goal, which he scored in the 82nd minute from close range, came after he missed a bevy of chances throughout the game.

Field a team largely consisting of younger players, Mexico threatened the Peruvian back line but lost its edge as the game wore on. Giovani Dos Santos was the focal point of Mexico's attacks, but he couldn't stop the Peruvians from creating chance after chance, including a pair of opportunities that Juan Vargas hit off the post. Mexico is in last place of the group with zero points after two close losses.

Here are the game highlights as well as other Copa America results: