Paraguay, which did not have a single shot on target in 120 minutes of a goalless Copa America quarter-final, managed to send holders Brazil crashing out 2-0 on penalties in La Plata. Brazil joined hosts Argentina, its rivals in the previous two finals, in going out of the tournament at the same stage after Argentina lost on penalties to Uruguay. Brazil dominated normal and extra time which ended 0-0, creating a string of chances which Paraguay repelled with a mix of stubborn defending, some luck and a man-of-the-match performance from goalkeeper and captain Justo Villar.Venezuela will be Paraguay's opponents in the semi-finals after beating Chile 2-1 in yet another quarter-final upset in San Juan. Left-back Gabriel Cichero scored the winning goal nine minutes from time, stabbing the ball home from close range after Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo had parried a Juan Arango free-kick. Centre back Oswaldo Vizcarrondo had given the Venezuelans the lead with a header in the 35th minute, also from an Arango free-kick, before Humberto Suazo equalised for Chile in the 70th minute.
Both teams ended the match with 10 men, Chile's Gary Medel and Venezuela's Tomas Rincon sent off in the closing minutes. In La Plata, the teams were also down to 10 men each from the 13th minute of extra time after a scramble for the ball by several players on one side of the pitch developed into a free-for-all with Paraguay defender Antolin Alcaraz and Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva sent off. The Brazilians, brilliant at times in open play, were dismal in the shoot-out with Elano, Andres Santos and Fred all firing their penalties wide while Villar saved from Thiago Silva. Edgar Barreto missed Paraguay's first penalty but Marcelo Estigarribia and Cristian Riveros converted theirs to help send Paraguay through.
No comments:
Post a Comment