Manchester United and Liverpool target Roberto Firmino and PSG‘s Thiago Silva helped Brazil top their group in the Copa America with Chelsea bound Radamel Falcao continuing his disappointing run. Brazil won 2-1 against Venezuela to ease into the quarter-finals with Peru and Colombia scraping through to the next round following a 0-0 draw. With Argentina running a possibility of facing Brazil in the semi-finals of the tournament, here is an analysis of the final round of fixtures of the Group stages.
Brazil Show Promise With Neymar Suspended
With captain Neymar suspended for the rest of the Copa America tournament, Brazil put forward a convincing performance to top Group C and will face Paraguay in the Quarter-Finals. Following his controversial suspension after losing 1-0 to Colombia, Brazil dominated the proceedings against Venezuela and managed to avoid another humiliating exit from an international tournament.
Brazila s performance indicated that Dunga has managed to find a way to play without Neymar as the likes of Firmino and Robinho stepped up their game. With the Barcelona winger out for the rest of the tournament, Brazil will have to play as a cohesive unit if they expect to succeed in the Copa America. While many believed that Brazila s fate in the Copa America lay with Neymar, their performance against Venezuela reflected that Dunga’s side has the ability to go far in the tournament in the wake of Neymara s suspension.
Keen to overcome the humiliation of the 2014 World Cup, Brazil will be hoping to retain their form with Neymar observing the proceedings from the stands for the rest of the Copa America.
Radamel Falcao Continues To Disappoint, Colombia And Peru Scrape Through
Rumoured to be Chelsea bound, Colombian international Radamel Falcao failed to make his presence known as Colombia took on Peru in the final round of fixtures of the Group Stages. With Colombia suffering from a disappointing campaign so far, big names such as Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado have failed to make an impact so far.
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Following their 0-0 draw against Peru, Colombia managed to scrape through to the quarter-finals where they will face Argentina in an exciting fixture. Colombia will be banking on its superstars if they are to put forward a stiff resistance to the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria.
Meanwhile, Peru finished second in the Group stages and will face Bolivia in the quarter-finals after holding to a draw with Colombia. Both Peru and Colombia finished the group stages with 4 points apiece and a goal difference of 0. But Peru finished second for having scored more goals than a Radamel Falcao led Colombia.
Brazil-Argentina Face Off In The Pipeline
With both Argentina and Brazil topping their respective groups, there is a good chance that the two arch rivals from South America could face each other in the semi finals of the Copa America. Argentina face Colombia in the quarter-finals with Brazil coming up against Paraguay. If both the teams manage to win their respective fixtures, the semi-finals could feature a mouth watering clash between a Lionel Messi led Argentina and a Brazil side that will sorely miss his Barcelona teammate Neymar.
Argentina, despite their star-studded line up, have failed to really find their momentum in the tournament so far. Having lost to Germany in the World Cup finals last year in Brazil, Argentina would loathe themselves if they come up short again. Meanwhile Brazil also have reasons to bury the ghosts of the 2014 World Cup and will be keen to earn back their reputation by putting forward a strong display in the Copa America this year.