In the first two rounds of group play in the 2011 Copa America, one game stood out as far and away the most entertaining. Brazil were a disappointment to their fans before their 4-2 win over Ecuador, but they at least helped to put on a good show for the neutrals with a 2-2 draw against Paraguay one round before. Thanks to the way the draw played out, those two sides now play each other in a quarterfinal matchup on Sunday afternoon.
Copa America 2011, Brazil Vs. Paraguay: Preview
Against Ecuador, the chemistry between Brazil’s big time attackers was incredible. Playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso and forwards Pato and Neymar were all absolutely brilliant, and it’s bad news for the rest of the tournament field if those three players are loose, creative, and clicking with each other. Paraguay’s defense should put up more of a fight than Ecuador’s did, but it would be surprising to see them kept off the scoreboard after their two goals against Paraguay in the group stage matchup and four goals against Ecuador on Wednesday.
Brazil will likely be missing one key player, as central defender Thiago Alves picked up a knock and is not expected to start. The good news is that the man who is likely to step into the lineup in his place, David Luiz, is much more than backup quality. A revelation at Chelsea FC after his January arrival in the English Premier League, many argue that he should have been in the starting lineup in the first place.
Coming into this match, talent aside, Brazil should have a bit of a mental edge. Of course, mental edges are all subjective guesswork in the first place, but it would be a bit surprising if Paraguay were 100 percent confident coming into this one. They were about to beat Brazil before Fred scored an 89th minute equalizer in their group stage match, and then they proceeded to do a worse version of the same thing as they allowed Venezuela to score twice in five minutes to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 draw. Paraguay have not been closing matches, and it would be hard to believe that it isn’t in their head to some extent.
Don't count on Brazil prevailing, though. After the two quarterfinals yesterday, it's become obvious that everything is possible and nothing is certain in Copa America. After Uruguay and Peru defeated Argentina and Colombia yesterday, it would only be fitting to see Paraguay pull off a similar upset.
Brazil vs. Paraguay kicks off at 3:00 PM E.T. and can be seen on Univision and Youtube in the USA. For more on the Copa America, check out our 2011 Copa America section for all of our coverage from throughout the tournament. We'll have coverage of Sunday's later quarterfinal, Chile vs. Venezuela, as well. For our coverage of Saturday night's quarterfinals, check out our Colombia vs. Peru and Argentina vs. Uruguay StoryStreams.
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