Who’s moving on

Group A:
Venezuela is through no matter what happens.
The rest of the group is very much in it as the 2nd and 3rd place finishers will move on, so there is a lot at stake in their final games. Last team in the group (currently Bolivia) is will be eliminated.

Group B:
Mexico has already qualified for round 2 play.
Brazil and Chile are not mathematically in yet, but you need some crazy scenarios to happen for them to be eliminated at this point.
I mistakenly stuck the fork in Ecuador but they are still in it, as long as they beat Brazil by more than two goals and Mexico wins. Plausible if yet unlikely scenario.

Group C:
Paraguay and Argentina are through and will battle to see who is the #1 seed.
USA and Colombia are going home as long as pigs don’t fly.

 

By the way, if you haven’t seen how the knock out round is scheduled, it is completely laughable. Whoever gets 1st place in Group A can practically go on cruise control. Perhaps the best thing for Brazil is to finish third in their group (eek!) and avoid Argentina in the next round. That’s COMEBOL for ya, host country gets the spoils.

Brazil 3 - 0 Chile

They came, they saw, they conquered.

A desperate Brazil converted a dive in the area to go up 1-0 and get back on track. With the threat of not getting out of Group B this was a must game win against Chile. The Brazilians delivered but it wasn’t easy. It took them to the final minutes of the game for Robinho to seal the deal and then throw another one down in good measure.

Brazil had good play on the wings with Gilberto and Maicon - until his injury early on. Dani Alves and Robinho skillfully worked the wings and bring on the attacking game. Once they got the lead, a shaky Alex and Juan on defense gained confidence and were able to play more comfortably. A more relaxed Brazil imposed their game, but not in their typical fashion. Dunga made only one change in the starting lineup, replacing Diego with Anderson, and it didn’t make a difference. Anderson stunk, much like Diego did in the group opener. Brazil didn’t play that beautifully with the change, and you can bet Kaka and Ronaldinho are not worried about losing their spot in the starting eleven.

Chile had a good strategy coming in. Their gameplan was to have at least five guys back at all times and sit back and play the counter attack with Mark Gonzalez and el Chupete Suazo. That worked until the Vagner Love took a dive and the ref gave Brazil a PK. Yes, it could have been called a penalty, but I’m sure if it was Chile taking a dive, it wouldn’t have been. Robinho takes the penalty kick, badly, but scores. Suazo played great up on top for Chile, but he was alone and had too much of a mountain to climb by himself.

With the lead, Brazil slowed down and played more relaxed. There were a bunch of good plays on both sides, with most of it coming at the end. Without pressure Robinho had space and knocked down two more goals to soothe the pain from the Mexico game. He seems like the only striker capable of scoring for them. What is Vagner Love doing? Not much so far.

Anyway you look at it, Dunga will be happy. He got his 3 points and he got the Robinho he hoped for.

Robinho 3 - 0 Chile

The Star

Robinho. F, Brazil.
This is what Real Madrid expected from Robinho - someone capable of being a game breaker. He still needs to work on shooting those PKs.

The Ugly Duckling

Anderson. M, Brazil.
He got his chance today as a starter but was subbed out early and never left his mark on the pitch. He won’t be proud.

Sunday matches

Odds for today

Brazil 1.30
Chile 8.00
Tie 3.75

Mexico 1.80
Ecuador 4.00
Tie 3.10

Brazil and Mexico are clear favorites which is to be expected. You have to be very brave to bet against them today.

Match times are 4pm and 6pm respectively on EDT on Univision.

Nery Castillo’s Goal as a .gif

Mas de Nery Castillo.. because we can’t get enough Nery Castillo on the blog…

Animation of Nery’s brilliant goal vs brazil.

Fred’s Out

More bad news for Dunga. Lyon striker Fred broke his right foot during a practise match. That leaves Brazil with one less forward.

Double the games. Double your pleasure!

#95.- El sueño se hizo realidad.

Originally uploaded by JuanPCC
What’s getting a ticket to see a Copa America game in person? Seeing two games the same day for the same price!

Not only that, but what games!!
Chile vs Ecuador was a great game. Lots of open play, great shots and lots of goals.

And Brazil vs Mexico was an instant classic for all the fans of the Tricolor! The Nery Castillo show came to town and Dunga failed in his debut even though his team attacked and tried to erase the two goal deficeit. What a great start to the tournament.

Group C

The Group of Death!

Group A is obviously an easy group, and of course Venezuela is in it.

Group B is a tough group with Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador, three teams from Germany 2006. Add a surprising Chile to that mix now.

Group C though is El Group de la Muerte, The Group of Death.

Lets start with Argentina. Unlike the Copa America in Colombia, where they were too cowards to attend, they come to Venezuela with all their star power. Basile is leaving nothing to chance. They are rightfully so the favorites to win, with - in my opinion - the best goalkeeper in the world in el Pato, a world class defense, an incredible midfield and lethal strikers. An amazing team!

Then you have Paraguay, a team who is rebuilding after many years being led by their outspoken goalie Chilavert and an experienced and veteran defense. Everybody expects Paraguay to sit back, put 9 men in the box and then rely on a counterattack. But with a lot of talent in midfield and the incredible Roque Santa Cruz on attack, this is a well rounded team that can challenge anybody.

USA the recent Gold Cup champs comes to Venezuela as an invitee, and as a disappointment to all US fans they don’t bring their top talent, but still bring a promising squad. Not likely to win the cup by any means but they are capable of causing damage.

Colombia rounds off the group, and although they took a beating, they have never been a bottom feeder team. But yes, to the dismay of their fans, the cafeteros havent seen the elite of football in a while.

Four tough teams, all coming into this Copa America with recent wins and momentum. Can Argentina roll through it? I expect them to, but you never know…