Copa America: Costa Rica overshadows Brazil; Colombia is unstoppable

Beyond all expectations, Costa Rica ties with Brazil in a scoreless debut match to pull one of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far.

• READ MORE: Colombia 2-1 Paraguay: Highlights, stats and result
• READ MORE: Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica: Highlights, stats and result

Brazil fails to impress on day five of Copa America 2024, as Costa Rica pulls off a surprise in this tournament.

With this tie, the Costa Rican team has realized a significant achievement against one of their favorite teams, who nonetheless continues to struggle. In the words of Ronaldinho: “Everything is missing in the team“.

Colombia, on the other hand, is making great strides as a strong contender team with an astonishing 24-game unbeaten streak after its successful debut against Paraguay.

Copa America: Colombia 2-1 Paraguay

• 24 and counting

Colombia’s promising future is backed by its 24 consecutive matches without defeat (19 wins and 5 draws) with its recent 2-1 win over Paraguay.

The Colombians have gone almost two and a half years unbeaten since their last loss to Argentina (0-1) on February 1, 2022, in the qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar.

This Colombian squad is only three games away from equaling the historical record of the Colombian national team led by Francisco ‘Pacho’ Maturana, which left a record of 27 undefeated games between 1992 and 1994.

• James’ magic

Just like in the old days, James Rodriguez has found his best playing level when it comes to putting on the Colombia jersey.

The midfielder had a magnificent debut in the Copa America 2024 with his two assists in the 2-0 win over Paraguay, becoming the first Colombian to do so since David Ferreira against Argentina in Venezuela 2007.

• It’s not Barranquilla, it’s Houston

Colombia will undoubtedly be well supported by its fans throughout its participation in the United States. The 72,000-seat NRG Stadium was flooded with a yellow tide of more than 67,000 fans, who sang their country’s anthem at the top of their lungs.

• Enciso with a scoring debut

Julio César Enciso played 15 games before scoring his first goal with Paraguay.

He fought the hardest for his team and scored in the 69th minute, after a cross from Ramón Sosa for that 2-1 score that temporarily silenced the Colombian fans at the NRG Stadium.

Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica

• The most expensive does not make a difference against the youngest one

Brazil arrived the Copa America as the most expensive squad: its 26 players have a global market value of US$575 million.

Costa Rica however, boasts the youngest squad among the 16 national teams, with an average age of 24.7 years.

• Questionable Mexican refereeing

The Mexican referee with World Cup experience, César Arturo Ramos, was harshly criticized in Brazil for two controversial decisions that directly affected the team.

The first came in the 29th minute with a goal disallowed to Marquinhos for an apparent offside before his shot; the referee took up to five minutes to give his final verdict.

Yet, the most controversial play of the match was a clear handball inside Costa Rica’s area, which would have been a penalty for Brazil; however, Ramos decided to continue the match without signaling the action or resorting to the VAR to review it.

• Endrick surpasses historic Pelé

Brazilian sensation Endrick made his Copa America debut to become the second youngest player of this edition, as well as the second youngest Brazilian, surpassing Pelé, at 17 years and 339 days.

Real Madrid’s player, is only behind Ecuador’s Kendry Paez, who did it at 17 years and 1 month during the 1-2 defeat against Venezuela.

• Neymar and Jimmy Butler supporting Brazil

Neymar, who is recovering from a serious left knee injury, was present at SoFi Stadium along with Miami Heat basketball player Jimmy Butler to support his teammates.

Invitados de lujo 🤝 pic.twitter.com/aNrN5lF58B

— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ (@CopaAmerica) June 25, 2024

Previously, the Al-Hilal striker attended the ‘Verdeamarela‘ dinner last Sunday to wish them “all the luck in the world“.