Copa America: Colombia hits the jackpot; Brazil to survive

Colombia kept their unbeaten streak alive and held on to the top prize in Group D: qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Copa America as the undefeated leader in their group and avoiding Uruguay in its immediate path.

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

Brazil finished second and will go to Las Vegas facing a long-time rival and one of the favorite teams for the title in what promises to be the most evenly-matched game of the knockout stage.

Copa America: The eight teams qualified for quarterfinals

Copa America Group Stage has concluded and the eight teams that will face each other in quarterfinals, have been defined.

Argentina, which took first place in Group A, will face Ecuador, the second place team in Group B, on Thursday at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Meanwhile, Venezuela, who led Group B, will face Canada, who placed second in Group A, on Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The quarterfinals will end on Saturday, July 6, with Uruguay, leader of Group C, playing for a place in the semifinals against Brazil, who came in second in Group D; while Colombia will face Panama, one of the great surprises of the tournament as second in Group C.

Brazil 1-1 Colombia

• Colombia is one game away from making history

Colombia has kept its undefeated streak and with the draw against Brazil, it reached 26 consecutive matches without losing; so it is only one game away from tying its historical record achieved between July 1992 and April 1994.

The team led by Néstor Lorenzo could mark this milestone next Saturday at State Farm Stadium if it beats Panama in its quarterfinal match.

• Brazil will face Uruguay without Vinícius Jr.

Vinícius Júnior was shown a yellow card in the defeat against Colombia and will miss Copa America quarterfinals where Brazil will face Uruguay at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The ‘Canarinha’ striker was cautioned after slapping James Rodriguez in the 7th minute of the match when the score was 0-0.

• VAR continues to be questioned

Two key plays were crucial during the match between Brazil and Colombia, where the VAR once was subject to criticism; a situation that has become constant during this Copa América.

The first, was against the ‘cafetaleros’, who had a goal by Davinson Sanchez disallowed for offside after a cross by James Rodriguez; however, the VAR drew the line on Jhon Cordoba, who never intervened in the play.

Meanwhile, Brazil ended up claiming a penalty on Vinícius before the end of the first half for contact by Daniel Muñoz, which was not reviewed by the referee.

Costa Rica 2-1 Paraguay

• The 50th goal of the Copa América

Costa Rican striker Josimar Alcócer scored the 50th goal of Copa America during the last match of the group stage.

The KVC Westerlo striker scored the second goal for the team seven minutes into the first half in the victory of the ‘ticos’ over Paraguay.

• Costa Rica and Paraguay, the last teams eliminated

Costa Rica, which was looking for a miracle, ended its participation as a Concacaf guest team along with Paraguay as the last national teams to be eliminated from the tournament.

The ‘Ticos’ finished in third place with three points, while ‘La Albirroja’ (Paraguay) was last in Group D with three defeats in three games.