Copa America preview

last SG · 2007-07-01T19:52:26+00:00

Uruguay 1 - 3 Mexico scorers:S Abreu (Uruguay) C Blanco (pen)(Mexico), O Bravo(Mexico), A Guardado (Mexico)

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The 42nd edition of international football's oldest competition kicks off on Tuesday night.

The South American competition will take place in Venezuela for the first time and the continent's finest sides, as well as invitees United States and Mexico, will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Brazil who won the competition in 2004.

Former World Cup winner Dunga is now at the helm of the Samba stars and will be wary of the challenge of historic rivals Argentina, who lost in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the final three years ago.

Brazil may be lacking world superstars such as Kaka and Ronaldinho, but their squad is still bursting with talent and the Copa America will be an early opportunity for Manchester United fans to see new signing Anderson in action.

Rivals Arsenal will have potential new captain Gilberto Silva to cheer on, whilst Julio Baptista has also been included in Dunga's squad after returning to Real Madrid.

Argentina boast Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano and Gabriel Heinze from the Premier League, with a whole array of stars from all over the continent hoping to bring their country glory.

Gold Cup winners United States and beaten finalists Mexico are also along for the ride after being nominated as this year's invited teams.

Group A comprises Venezuela, Uruguay, Bolivia and Peru, Group B contains Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Ecuador, whilst Argentina, United States, Paraguay and Colombia contest Group C.

The top two in each group, and the two best third-placed finishers, will then make up the quarter-finalists.

If Argentina or Uruguay triumph in the final in Maracaibo on 15th July then they will edge ahead in the history books with a 15th victory in the competition, with Brazil surprisingly lagging behind with just seven wins.

Table:

Group A:

Bolivia
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela

Group B:

Brazil
Chile
Ecuador
Mexico

Group C:

Argentina
Colombia
Paraguay
United States

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Venezuela v Bolivia Preview

Hosts Venezuela hope to start the 2007 Copa America on a winning note against Bolivia.

Venezuela - staging the tournament for the first time - have never previously qualified for the knockout phase of the Copa America.

Coach Richard Paez feels a place in the quarter-finals is within his team's grasp and an opening Group A win over Bolivia would be a major boost.

Paez will be relying on Mallorca striker Juan Arango to do much of the damage as he is the country's highest-profile player.

Domestic champions Caracas FC provide seven members of the Venezuelan squad and they are also expected to make their presence felt.

Bolivia also have visions of a knockout place and goalkeeper Sergio Galarza is targeting a win over the hosts.

"We start with a lot of calm, mainly because of the work carried out during this time," Galarza told reporters.

"As we are counting down the hours, the anxiety is growing.

"It is fundamental to start on the front foot this Tuesday if we are to think about reaching the second phase."

Bolivia will have Diego Cabrera and Ronald Garcia fit for the game after the duo recovered from minor injuries.

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Peru v Uruguay preview

The 2007 Copa America opens in Merida as Uruguay play Peru, in an intriguing clash that will provide an insight into some of the strengths and weaknesses of Group A.

Peru travel to Venezuela with criticism ringing in collective ears, following indifferent preparation for the tournament, but it is coach Julio Caesar Uribe's that will be burning brightest.

The 3-3-2-2 he has employed most often has not sat well with the Peru faithful and, it is a narrow formation which, somewhat predictably, has manifest criticism from Newcastle wide man Nolberto Solano - a high profile absentee.

Peru can, though, call on Chelsea new boy Claudio Pizarro (pictured) and all eyes at Stamford Bridge will be on the bustling forward, as they look to garner more information on their acquisition from Bayern Munich.

Alongside Pizarro will be the pacey presence of Jefferson Farfan and following what was a hugely impressive campaign with Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, he too will be confident of posing problems in Venezuela.

Peru have tasted Copa America glory back in 1939 and 1975 and while they are unlikely to complete a hat-trick in 2007, they could yet pose the odd problem for some of this year's more fancied contenders.

Perennial dark horses Uruguay commence the tournament without their talisman Alvaro Recoba, courtesy of a thigh injury that is threatening to derail his country's chances of glory.

The extent of the injury has yet to be ascertained, but what is clear is that Fabian Estoyanoff will step-in as his replacement for the Peru clash.

At the other end of the field, Diego Lugano finished Uruguay's last training session with ice strapped around his knee, but it is thought such action was precautionary and he is expected to start.

Diego Forlan has rued Recoba's absence in the local press but with clubs across Europe, and in particular the Premier League, watching the former Manchester United misfit, it will be on the Villarreal hit-man's shoulders that the goalscoring burden rests.

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nice previews Very Happy

tinking of Bolivia to upset Laughing

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Group A

6:05am - Uruguay v Peru

08:50am - Venezuela v Bolivia

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Final Result:

Uruguay 0 - 3 Peru

78 mins:

Venezuela 2 - 1 Bolivia

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Pizarro inspires Peru

Peru got their Copa America campaign off to a superb start with an emphatic 3-0 win against Uruguay on Tuesday.

Goals from defender Miguel Villata, substitute Juan Marino and Jose Guerrero gave Julio Cesar Uribe's side the perfect fillip to their Group A campaign at the Metropolitano Stadium in Merida.

"These players are starting to change the course of Peruvian soccer," Uribe told AFP.

"We have won an important game but there is still plenty of work to do. I am convinced that my team can play a lot better."

Peru dominated from the first whistle with Chelsea's new signing Claudio Pizarro pulling the strings.

Villata opened the scoring after 27 minutes when he powerfully met a Pizarro corner.

Uruguay should have levelled in the 66th minute but substitute striker Diego Rodriguez fluffed a golden chance.

And Marino made them pay when he doubled Peru's lead after 70 minutes when he latched on to a ball from PSV Eindhoven's Jefferson Farfan and curled it beyond Fabian Carini in the Uruguay goal.

Guerrero then rubbed salt into the wounds when he added a third two minutes from time.

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Mexico stun holders Brazil

Mexico stunned holders Brazil in their opening Copa America game with a 2-0 win.

A brilliant goal from Nery Castillo and a superb free-kick from Ramon Morales were enough to give Mexico a memorable victory.

Mexico broke the deadlock after just 21 minutes with a sublime goal from Castillo.

The Olympiakos striker superbly lifted the ball over Juan and goalkeeper Doni before slotting the ball into the net.

Morales doubled Mexico's lead eight minutes later when he scored from a free-kick from the edge of the box.

Brazil fought back in the second half, but they were denied on several occasions by inspired Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

The closest Brazil came to scoring was when Robinho saw a shot come back off the crossbar and Alex saw a header cleared off the line by Fausto Pinto.

The defeat was disappointing for Brazil coach Dunga and the former Brazil skipper bemoaned his side's luck.

"We lost concentration and conceded the goals," said Dunga.

"We recovered and showed our quality but the ball would not go in."

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Chile too hot for Ecuador

Chile twice came from behind to overcome Ecuador 3-2 in a thrilling game in Group B.

Substitute Carlos Villanueva's late goal gave Chile an unlikely win to boost their hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages.

Wigan midfielder Antonio Valencia gave Ecuador the lead on 16 minutes with a clever chipped finish.

Chile hit back and drew level five minutes later with Humberto Suazo scoring his first goal of the contest.

Parity was short-lived as Ecuador restored their lead just two minutes later through Cristian Benitez.

Claudio Bravo kept Chile in the game with a couple of superb saves in the second half.

Chile equalised for a second time ten minutes from time with Suazo finding the net again.

Ecuador were then left stunned three minutes from time when Villanueva curled a brilliant free-kick over the wall and into the net past Cristian Mora to earn Chile the win.

Chile boss Nelson Acosta admitted his side did not play well.

"We're a good team that sometimes plays well," said Acosta.

"Today, we didn't have a good game but we muddled through."

His Ecuador counterpart Luis Fernando Suarez was left shocked by the defeat

"It was one of those games where the opponents don't beat you but you lose the game yourselves," said Suarez.

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Mexico 2 - 0 Brazil

Chile 3 - 2 Ecuador

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Tonight:

Paraguay v Colombia

Argentina v United States

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Paraguay v Colombia preview

Paraguay and Colombia lock horns in the opening game of Group C.

Argentina are firm favourites to progress as group winners and both Paraguay and Colombia will know that defeat could leave them with little chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

Paraguay, widely considered to be the third best team in South America, are set to line up in a 3-5-2 formation.

Roque Santa Cruz, who is expected to be partnered by Oscar Cardozo in attack, will be relied upon to score the goals and will be eager to make an impression after a disappointing World Cup.

Argentina-born Jonathan Santana gained Paraguayan nationality in time to be called up for the Copa America and is expected to provide most of the creativity.

Colombia coach Jorge Luis Pinto has selected a young squad, picking just five players based in Europe.

Pinto's long-term goal is qualification for the next World Cup but he will have been encouraged by his side's performances in recent friendly matches.

Colombia have beaten the likes of Switzerland and Ecuador and Pinto expects his team to be competitive against Paraguay.

"We will have continuity from the friendly games, where we did well, and we will also be able to resort to some alternatives."

Midfielder John Viafara and striker Edixon Perea are two of Colombia's most established players, while 21-year-old Hugo Rodallega is an exciting prospect and has been tipped to be one of the best youngsters of the tournament.

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Argentina v USA preview

Argentina take on in-form United States in Copa America's Group C.

In a tough group that also includes Paraguay and Colombia, both sides will be eager make a strong start.

Argentina may perhaps be more wary of their opponents following Brazil's surprise 2-0 defeat to Mexico, which underlined how open the tournament could be.

Unlike Brazil, however, the Argentine squad is full of familiar names and bears a formidable look.

Coach Alfio Basile has already named his starting XI and has opted to leave out Carlos Tevez, going instead for Lionel Messi and Hernan Crespo.

The returning Juan Sebastian Veron and Juan Roman Riquelme will look to pull the strings behind the front two, and will be joined in midfield by Javier Mascherano and Esteban Cambiasso.

Roberto Abbondanzieri will line up in goal and will be shielded by a back four of Javier Zanetti, Roberto Ayala, Gabriel Milito and Gabriel Heinze.

USA triumphed in the Gold Cup at the weekend, as goals from Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber secured a 2-1 victory over Mexico.

However, Bob Bradley has selected a largely young and inexperienced squad for the Copa America. Of the 22 players, 14 have seven caps or fewer.

Key players such as Donovan, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, Tim Howard and Brian Ching have been left out.

Kansas City Wizards' Eddie Johnson and Taylor Twellman of New England Revolution will lead the attack.

Goalkeeper Kasey Keller and defender Jay DeMerit are two players with Premier League experience in an otherwise under-strength side, but Bradley does not believe Argentina should be feared.

"To have a little respect for your rival is good, but too much respect is bad," said Bradley.

"We respect Argentina, but we will go out there as equals."

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I think its tomorrow morning... Mr. Green

Copa America Venezuela 2007:

Ch: 22

Paraguay vs Colombia (Live) - 06:30 AM

Argentina vs United States (Live) - 08:45 AM

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Paiseh~ Embarassed

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Roque floors Colombia

Roque Santa Cruz inspired Paraguay to a thumping 5-0 win over Colombia with a superb hat-trick in Maracaibo

The Bayern Munich ace was the hero for Paraguay as they got their Copa America campaign off to the best possible start.

Colombia missed a great chance to break the deadlock on 28 minutes when striker Alvaro Dominguez saw his penalty saved by Justo Villar.

Colombia were made to pay for that miss just two minutes later when Santa Cruz broke clear to open the scoring.

Santa Cruz doubled Paraguay's lead just seconds after the restart.

The striker completed his treble 11 minutes from time to put the game beyond Colombia.

A late double from substitute Salvador Cabanas piled on the misery for Colombia.

Colombia coach Jorge Luis Pinto apologised for the humiliating defeat.

"I lament the score," said Pinto. "I'm sorry for Colombia and for my country.

"We missed a penalty and then they took advantage of the spaces we left and the mistakes we made in defence.

"We dominated the game."

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino admitted the missed penalty was the turning point of the game.

"The key moment was the penalty, which Villar saved," said Martino. "The team was ruthless.

"We didn't have much of the ball but we got to the opponents' penalty area and scored."

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Argentina off to a flyer

Argentina underlined their credentials as Copa America favourites with a stylish 4-1 victory over United States in their Group C opener.

USA briefly threatened to cause a major upset when Eddie Johnson opened the scoring, but Argentina came roaring back with a brace from Hernan Crespo and further goals from Pablo Aimar and Carlos Tevez.

Johnson was brought down in the area by Gabriel Milito after eight minutes and calmly stepped up to take the penalty and fire USA into a surprise lead.

But USA could only keep their advantage for four minutes as Crespo got on the end of a Juan Roman Riquelme free-kick.

USA battled hard to stay on level terms and managed to frustrate Argentina for the rest of the first half by packing their defence with bodies.

Kasey Keller tipped a Juan Sebastian Veron shot onto the crossbar just before the break but could do nothing about Crespo's well-placed strike after 64 minutes, which rounded off a delightful move involving Lionel Messi and Riquelme.

Argentina could not be contained any longer and Aimar made it 3-1 as he headed home Gabriel Heinze's cross in the 78th minute.

Tevez came on moments later and completed the rout with a cool finish past Keller four minutes from time.

Argentina coach Alfio Basile was delighted with the result and insisted his side were not nervous after falling behind.

"We stayed calm. My players worked and were rewarded," he explained.

"USA were tactically very good and made it difficult for us but we knew that at some point they would tire."

Crespo, who equalled Diego Maradona's goal-scoring record with his 34th for Argentina, added: "The achievement was made special by the presence of Maradona at the game.

"It's an immense honour for me to equal the achievement of Diego."

USA coach Bob Bradley was proud of his team but admitted Argentina were too strong in the last half hour.

"We put a lot of effort into the first 60 minutes, and I think when Argentina raised the level over the last 30 minutes we were unable to match that," Bradley said.

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Final Score:

Paraguay 5 - 0 Colombia

Argentina 4 - 1 United States

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Fred blow for Brazil

Brazil striker Fred has been ruled out of the rest of the Copa America after breaking his foot.

The 23-year-old suffered the foot injury in training on Thursday.

Brazil team doctor Jose Luis Runco confirmed the injury after the player had scans on his foot.

"He has been released to tend to his foot," said Runco.

"This would normally take around one month to recover from."

The news is a blow for Brazil as they look to bounce back from their opening defeat to Mexico and Lyon will be keen to find out if Fred will be fit in time for the start of the new Ligue 1 season.

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Bolivia v Uruguay preview

San Cristobal is the destination for Bolivia's game with Uruguay, which will likely go a long way to determine who qualifies from Group A of the Copa America.

Thus far and the tournament has been characterised by shock results, as Mexico beat Brazil and, more pertinently, Uruguay were soundly beaten by unfancied Peru in their opening game.

Uruguay headed into the tournament with genuine aspirations but a miserable performance against Peru did little to enhance their prospects. As such, their coach Oscar Washington Tabarez is expected to make several changes for the Bolivia clash.

It has been intimated that star man Alvaro Recoba (pictured) could figure at some stage, albeit most likely from the bench.

There will, though, be almost certainly changes from the side that started against Peru, with Dario Rodriguez, Maximiliano Pereira and Andres Scotti primed for promotion from the bench.

Bolivia's opening game was a 2-2 stalemate with Venezuela, which they will most likely be content with, given Uruguay's defeat as they spy a qualifying spot.

One familiar face amongst English supporters will be that of former Middlesbrough striker Jaime Moreno and it will be he that leads Bolivia's attack.

Bolivia coach Erwin Sanchez is confident that his charges are steadily improving and he is hopeful of another bright performance against Uruguay.

"Step by step we are growing, we are going to maintain the same attitude and a new identity," he said.

"It does not interest us to sit back, it is good for us to maintain the impetus and be offensive."