Brazil’s quest for a record-extending 10th Copa América title hit a snag as they were held to a thrilling 1-1 draw by Colombia on Tuesday. Despite the hiccup, they still advance to the quarter-finals, where they’ll face a tough test against Uruguay.
Colombia Ends Brazil's Winning Streak
Colombia, unbeaten in a staggering 26 games, surprised Brazil with a determined performance. Daniel Muñoz cancelled out Raphinha’s early free-kick for Brazil, extending Colombia’s unbeaten run while snapping their 10-match winning streak.
“We wanted to test ourselves against a top team,” said Colombia’s coach, Néstor Lorenzo. “This was another step forward. You can’t relax against Brazil for a second, but we’re happy with the result.”
Daniel Muñoz y el empate cafetero 🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/4XvptsZ6fs
— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ (@CopaAmerica) July 3, 2024
Marquinhos Admits Room for Improvement
Brazil defender Marquinhos acknowledged their struggles. “We need to be honest, we’re not at our peak yet. There’s a lot to improve, especially in these big matches.”
Action-Packed Encounter
The clash between the unbeaten Colombians and the five-time World Cup winners lived up to the hype. Both sides came out firing, with Vinicius Júnior receiving a yellow card (which will rule him out of the Uruguay match) for a reckless challenge on James Rodríguez.
Rodríguez nearly opened the scoring with a free-kick that clipped the crossbar, but Raphinha answered minutes later with a stunning free-kick of his own.
Colombia thought they had equalized through Davinson Sánchez, but a VAR check ruled it offside. Just before halftime, Jhon Córdoba found Muñoz for the equalizer, sending the teams into the break level.
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Neither Side Backs Down
The intensity remained high despite the scorching California heat. Raphinha nearly doubled Brazil’s lead with another free-kick, while Colombia’s substitute Rafael Borré missed a golden opportunity. Colombia’s goalkeeper, Camilo Vargas, made a crucial save in stoppage time to deny Brazil’s Andreas Pereira.
Costa Rica Falls Short Despite Early Goals
Costa Rica’s Copa América journey ended despite a 2-1 victory over Paraguay. Goals from Francisco Calvo and teenager Josimar Alcócer gave them a promising start, but Ramón Sosa’s second-half goal for Paraguay extinguished their qualification hopes.
Una pinturita de gol de Josimar Alcócer 🎨 pic.twitter.com/29hoKkKmX1
— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ (@CopaAmerica) July 3, 2024
“It was a tough group,” said Costa Rica’s coach, Gustavo Alfaro. “We faced two of the tournament favorites. We showed our strengths and learned from our mistakes, but qualifying wasn’t meant to be.”
This marked the first time since 1925 that Paraguay lost all their group matches. Their coach, Daniel Garnero, simply stated, “It was a bad tournament, a bad performance.”
