Copa América Quarterfinal Matchups

Venezuela played their part in the most dramatic game of the tournament so far on Wednesday, first taking the lead before falling behind 3-1 to Paraguay. They were still two goals down going into stoppage time, but rallied astonishingly to eventually cling to a 3-3 draw, with a last-minute equalizer from Grenddy Perozo which was set up with a header from Renny Vega - the team's goalkeeper, who'd come forward for the corner.

Venezuela will be distinct second favorites against arguably the team of the tournament so far, Chile. 

Saturday
Colombia vs. Peru
Argentina vs. Uruguay

Sunday
Brazil vs. Paraguay
Chile vs. Venezuela

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Uruguay vs. Mexico - U-22 Copa América 201: Full highlights

Uruguay are through to the quarterfinals of the 2011 Copa America after defeating Mexico by a final score of 1-0, sending El Tri's sub-22 side back home in time for the start of the Mexican Primera season.

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Previewing the Copa America

ESPN.com is labeling Mexico as the long shot to win the Copa America. Michael Cox writes,

"Mexico is sending an Olympic squad to this tournament, comprised of under-23 players. This week's discipline problems hardly indicate that the team is in the right frame of mind for a genuine shot at the trophy, especially after the senior squad just won the Gold Cup."

Well I don't know if I would call Mexico a long shot, but they have some challenges to overcome for sure. I also do not expect this team to make it to the final, however, I do see El Tri making some serious noise. As we saw during the Gold Cup roster purge, Mexico has a tendency on surprising their opponents. Let's just hope El Tri can give us some great moments to watch.

Who do you have winning?

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Mexico faces challenges, but Gio should shine in Copa

Luis Fernando Tena, assistant Coach Jose Manuel de la Torre, has lost defenders Israel Jimenez and Nestor Vidrio, midfielders Jorge Hernandez, Jonathan Dos Santos, David Cabrera, and Nestor Calderon, and forwards Marco Fabian and Javier Cortes. ¡Ay dios mio! 


With Javier Hernandez, Rafael Marquez, and Andres Guardado absent after competing in the Gold Cup, attacker Giovani dos Santos is the most experienced name in the squad, with 45 caps and 11 goals for El Tri. Paul Aguilar, the 25-year-old Club America defender, is the only other squad member whose caps number double figures. 


I have much faith in Gio, especially following his solid Gold Cup performance. It will be interesting to see how the team responds after, yet another, roster purge. Obviously, this squad is vastly less experienced than the Gold Cup champs. I expect to see some pretty ugly growing pains in the first few matches. Moreover, I expect Gio to have a break out tournament, even more so than his performance in the gold Cup.  

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Copa America 2O11 Groups

Coach - Luis Fernando Tena: The 53-year-old has assisted de la Torre since 2010, having won the Mexican title in 1997 with Cruz Azul and 2000 with Moreila. Tena has also led America, Jaguares, Santos Laguna, and Tecos. Tena was sacked by Jaguares after a slow start to the 2010 season.

What to watch for - Giovani dos Santos: Still only 22, the former Barcelona player has drifted since joining Spurs. Dos Santos has managed just 20 appearances at White Hart Lane, and has much to prove.

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Four Mexican Primera Players set to play for Columbia in Copa America

Kevin McCauley at fmfstateofmind reports that

"Four Colombian players who are contracted to teams in the Mexican Primera have been called into Colombia's Copa America side, all of them with different prospects for regular playing time. Dayro Moreno of the Tijuana Xolos and Jackson Martinez of Jaguares de Chiapas will compete with European stars Hugo Rodellega and Radamel Falcao for playing time at striker, while Aquivaldo Mosquera and Julian Anchicho will fight for playing time across the back line."

With the Copa America soon to kick off these moves could bolster an otherwise lack luster Colobian squad. The players involved in the trade should provide more depth and experience and at least contribute offensively.

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From Fox News Latino: Drifting volcano ash threatens Copa America

The governing body of South American soccer says the arrival of teams playing in the Copa America could be delayed because of the ash spewing from Chile's erupting volcano that's disrupting flights across the southern hemisphere.

Flights were grounded Monday in Argentina, which is host to the continental championship. The tournament opens July 1 when Argentina faces Bolivia in La Plata and ends July 24.

Francisco Figueredo, the executive secretary of the South American governing body CONMEBOL, said if the ash did not disperse soon the body would consider having teams fly to Paraguay's capital Asuncion and then travel by land to venues in Argentina.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2011/06/14/drifting-volcano-ash-threatens-copa-america/#ixzz1PSi4SXQ2

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Mexico sets prelim squad for Copa America

From SI.com, World Cup veterans Carlos Vela, Paul Aguilar, Jonny Magallon and goalkeeper Luis Michel head the list of 26 players in Mexico's preliminary squad for July's Copa America in Argentina.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/soccer/05/23/mexico.copa.ap/index.html#ixzz1NIE6Vxdf

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