Sao Paulo: The group stage of the Copa America ended with Brazil and Uruguay still the favourites and Argentina still unable to meet expectations.
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Colombia also impressed early on, finishing with a perfect record and without conceding any goals, while two-time defending champions Chile stuttered after a good start.
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The quarter-finals of the South American competition begin on Thursday with host Brazil taking on old foes Paraguay in Porto Alegre, and a day later in Rio de Janeiro it will be Argentina facing a Venezuela team that have struggled against recently.
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Also on Friday, Colombia play Chile in Sao Paulo, and on Saturday Uruguay’s attacking duo of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani will face Peru in Salvador.
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Here’s a closer look at the Copa America quarter-finals this week:
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Brazil v Paraguay
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Brazil got off to a slow start, being booed by the local crowd in their first two matches, but the 5-0 rout of Peru eased the pressure on coach Tite and boosted the team’s confidence entering the knockout stage.
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Paraguay barely survived the first round, advancing with only two points as one of the best third-place finishers from the three groups. But they played better than the results showed, letting victory escape against Argentina only because of a missed penalty kick in the second half.
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Brazil easily beat Paraguay the last time the teams met — in a World Cup qualifier two years ago. But it was Paraguay that eliminated Brazil the last two times the “Selecao” made it to the Copa America quarter-finals, in 2011 and 2015. Paraguay came out on top in penalty shoot-outs both times.
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“It will be a difficult match, we will need to be very focused,” Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho said. “But the team is full of confidence, things are going well for us right now.”
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Venezuela v Argentina
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Argentina would normally be favoured against Venezuela, but this time there is reason for concern for Lionel Messi and his teammates.
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While Argentina continue to struggle and just escaped elimination in the group stage, Venezuela enter the quarter-finals carrying good momentum.
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“We will have to play better against Venezuela,” Messi said. “It’s a team with very clear ideas in attack, with very quick players.”
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Venezuela, who held Brazil to a 0-0 draw in the group stage, defeated Argentina 3-1 in a friendly in Madrid in March. They drew their previous two matches with the Argentines, both in qualifying for the last World Cup.
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After losing the last two Copa America finals, Argentina remain on a quest to end a 26-year title drought with the senior squad.
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Colombia v Chile
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Chile’s title defence will go through a red-hot Colombia, the only team to win all of their matches and not concede any goals.
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James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao will be taking on Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas, two of Chile’s leaders in the title-winning campaigns of 2015 and 2016.
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The Chileans couldn’t avoid the Colombians because they lost to Uruguay 1-0 in the final group game, when midfielder Arturo Vidal was among those rested by coach Reinaldo Rueda, a Colombian.
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Colombia are led by Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, and are seeking their first South American title since 2001.
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Uruguay v Peru
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With Suarez and Cavani thriving, Uruguay will be favoured against a Peruvian squad coming off a demoralising loss to Brazil that prompted a wave of criticism against Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca.
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Peru’s defence is the worst among the teams in the quarter-finals, with six goals conceded in three matches. Uruguay have the second-best attack with eight goals, one less than Brazil.
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Cavani and Suarez have already scored two goals each for Uruguay, while Peru striker Paolo Guerrero has only one.
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Uruguay are the Copa America’s most successful team with 15 titles, one more than Argentina. Uruguay’s last continental title was in 2011.
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Fixtures: Quarter-finals
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All times UAE
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Friday
Brazil v Paraguay, 4.30am
Venezuela v Argentina, 11pm
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Saturday
Colombia v Chile, 3am
Uruguay v Peru, 11pm
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