Top Stories

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

Peru Mexico 1 (Getty Images)

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:

  

SANCHEZ SAVES CHILE IN DRAW AGAINST URUGUAY

In an enteraining Group C match, in-demand winger Alexis Sanchez scored the equalizer for Chile in a 1-1 draw with Uruguay. Los Charruas went ahead with a goal from Alvaro Fereira in the 53rd minute, but they couldn't close out the game as Sanchez netted 11 minutes later.  With the result, Chile is tied with Peru for first place in the group with four points while Uruguay is in third with two.

Here are the match highlights:

 

COSTA RICA STUN BOLIVIA 2-0

In one of the biggest surprises of the Copa America so far, a young Costa Rica side defeated Bolivia, 2-0, on Thursday night in Group A action.

Ricardo La Volpe's team got a pair of second half goals from Josue Martinez and Joel Campbell against a Bolivian team that lost two players to red cards. After taking the lead near the hour mark, Costa Rica could have put the game away in the 75th minute but Carlos Arias saved an Allen Guevara Zuniga penalty kick. It made no difference as Los Ticos scored an insurance goal three minutes later, and they celebrated it by acknowledging a no. 20 Costa Rica jersey in memory of the late Dennis Marshall.

With the win, Costa Rica currently sits in second place of the group with three points while Bolivia is in last with one.

Here are the match highlights:

 

——-

What did you think of Peru's victory over Mexico? Surprised Uruguay has yet to win? Do you see Costa Rica making it to the quarterfinals?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Costa Rica and Mexico ‘B Sides’ are doing well against South American teams. The soccer media need to adjust their evaluations of the two groups to come back to reality.

    Reply
  2. I’m not impressed with these Copa America teams..including Brazil and Argentina. The Concacaf teams in the Gold Cup looked stronger.

    Reply
  3. CONCACAF sucks for making both teams use U-22 , but I think Mexico’s 8 suspended players are to blame for the teams awful performance. I was pissed off when I learned about the prostitute scandal, the worst part was that 6 of them were starters. They received proper punishments, shame on them!!

    Reply
  4. I believe Mexico and Costa Rica were required to bring Olympic style teams.

    And Costa Rica is certainly bringing quality. They’ve got a better record than Argentina and Uruguay, for one thing!

    They have a narrow 1-0 loss to Colombia, where they played more than an hour with 10 men and still looked good, and a 2-0 win against Bolivia, which they were dominating even before the Bolivian red cards.

    I really think this Costa Rican side is better–or at least, performing better–than the Gold Cup squad, despite their youth and inexperience.

    Reply
  5. For all the hype, I have not been impressed with the quality I have seen in the Copa America…the power houses have looked week. Mexico has brought a team simialr to what the USMNT brought 4 yrs ago…subpar to say the least. Does this mean that Mexico will be disregarded next time around, as were the U.S. for not bringing more top notch players… highly doubted since its all about the money that Mexican fans bring to the tournament. Mexico I can understand, but I am pretty sure U.S. can bring a little more quality and money than Costa Rica can to this tournamnet.

    Reply

Leave a Comment