Colombia in the quarter-finals.

The fourth Group A match at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena saw CONMEBOL be the first in the knockout stage of the Copa America Centenario.

Colombia 2-1 Paraguay.  

Two goals in the first half for Colombia, Carlos Bacca 12’ and James Rodriguez 30’ and great defensive work, made Colombia became the first team to book their tickets to the knockout stage of the Copa America Centenario.  

One second half goal for Paraguay by Victor Ayala 71’ was not enough to get Paraguay some deserving points from the match. If we went by the rules of basketball, Ayala’s goal would have been worth more than a point. The stunning long-range shot was probably the only way to surprise David Ospina.

It was almost the repeat of their first match against the United States. Early goals and great defensive work brought Colombia another win and 3 points to advance from the group stage of the tournament. At half time, Colombia was up 2-0, and they knew that protecting that lead will be enough to get them promotion. And that is what they did, as the sat back and allowed Paraguay to do the attacking. It was a risky move, but it worked.

Had Paraguay been more clinical on the attacking end, they could have easily gotten their equalizer or win.

The objective remains the same for Paraguay when they meet USA in their final group stage match. A win will secure advancement into the knockout stage if Colombia continues their winning streak in Group A.

Colombia takes on Costa Rica and their only task will be to finish as group leaders. Costa Rica’s chances of qualifying a dimmer than the rest of their groupmates. The first thing they will need to do is to beat Colombia, and by a lot of goals, and hope that USA and Paraguay play to a draw, or for Paraguay to win by a 1-0 scoreline. In this case, the goal difference will be their ticket to the knockout stage. That is if they can score 6 past Colombia. Costa Rica will be hoping that the offensive pressure from Paraguay in today’s match would have worn out Colombia’s defense when they meet.