The opening two rounds of the 2011 Copa America group stages were unpredictable, but not in a good way. Usually unpredictable tournaments are fun and feature lots of action, but Copa, through the first two rounds, was simply disappointing. All of the tournament's best teams didn't play up to their best, and they weren't beaten by teams who played beautiful football. The likes of Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina let other teams get points more than they were outplayed. One of the beneficiaries of this was Peru, who took four points from their first two matches.
Copa America 2011 Quarterfinals, Colombia Vs. Peru: Preview
In round three of the group stages, some order returned to the tournament. Brazil and Argentina finally won, and both did it in style. Uruguay won as well. Paraguay drew, but at least they drew because of a brilliant comeback in a thrilling match. Peru? They finally lost, as they were expected to do against Uruguay in the first game. Will order continue to be restored to the tournament in the quarterfinals?
If it is, Peru don't have much of a chance against Colombia, the winners of Group A. With Jefferson Farfan and Claudio Pizarro in the lineup it would be another story, but their current roster faces a massive talent gap. Of course, their current roster faced a massive talent gap against Uruguay, who they drew, and Chile, who beat them in the 92nd minute, but they held their own in those games.
In a must-win situation, though, don’t expect Colombia to give them the leeway that Uruguay and Chile did. Colombia might be the biggest underachievers in world football, but it would be a serious disaster if they found a way to give this game away. Their back four, playmaker Fredy Guarin, and striker Radamel Falcao are just too good to not win this game.
Group stages filled with upsets, followed by the favorites showing up in the quarterfinals is something that happens frequently in Copa America. This match should be no exception.
You can catch this match at 3 P.M. ET on either Univision or Youtube if you live in the United States. The Copa America is streaming on Youtube to most countries across the globe. If you live in the United Kingdom, you can catch the game on ESPN UK. The game is on Fox Sports Latin America across South and Central America, including Mexico. I've found conflicting listings in Canada, so check your local listings there. For all of our Copa America coverage, check out our 2011 Copa America section.
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