Tuesday 5 July

Uruguay were held to a 1-1 draw yesterday night by Peru. Pablo Guerrero put Peru ahead in the 23rd minute while Luis Suarez got Uruguay level in the last seconds of the 1st half. Diego Forlan was very close a couple of times but Uruguay, like Argentina and Brazil, had to settle for the draw.
In yesterday’s late match Chile kept their campaign on track by beating Mexico 2-1. The Mexicans went 1-0 up five minutes before half time but Chile was the better team for much of the match. In the second half Esteban Paredes came off the bench and in the 66th minute scored the equaliser. Five minutes later, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Arturo Vidal got away from his marker on a corner and headed home the winner. Greatly appreciated by the 8000 fans from Chile who made the trek across the border to watch the match in San Juan.

Monday 4 July

The mood amongst Argentinian football fans is upbeat again after Brazil failed to capitalize on their possession against Venezuela. The defending champions were held to a 0-0 draw. Pato hit the woodwork while Robinho and Neymar spilled other big chances.
With most teams having had some difficulties to kick off their Copa campaign, the Argentinians are growing confident again that it’s their time to lift the trophy. The Copa is wide open and we have so far not seen any signs of a clear favourite just yet.

In yesterday’s other Group B match Paraguay were also held to a 0-0 draw in Santa Fe. They were the better side but could not finish off Ecuador, whom also had some clear cut chances.

Sunday 3 July

It has been 18 years since Argentina won the Copa América. This time around they’re hosting the event and desperately want to win the cup again. The country had built up their hopes before the tournament started but there seems to be some nagging selfdoubt. Coach Sergio Batista certainly has plenty of star power in his squad but there have been questions about the mentality and Batista’s tactics and style of play.

The 14 times winners were convincing in the last Copa América (2007) and were favourites to beat Brazil in the final. Instead they were dismantled 0-3. In the opening match at Estadio Único (Ciudad de La Plata) this Friday Argentina seriously struggled against a well organized Bolivian team. Bolivia played with a single striker on top, to emphasise on a midfield who linked up well with their defense. Except for an early chance for Carlos Tevez, after a Messi freekick, Argentina found themselves very limited in getting through with their offenses.
Bolivia then stunned the Argentinian fans just after the half-time break when Edivaldo Rojas back-heeled a corner over the line, despite the scrambling attempt of goalkeeper Sergio Romero to keep the ball out.
The introduction of Sergio Aguero from the Argentinian bench put another breath of life into the Argentinian creativity going forward. When it finally happened for them it was quite spectacular. An Angel di Maria cross into the Bolivian box was chested down by Roma defender Nicolas Burdisso, for Aguero to hit a sweet volley into the back of the net. The draw saved Argentina some embarassment from what should have been a clearly anticipated victory.

In the other opening match of Group A, played on Saturday afternoon, Colombia also disappointed somewhat as favourites against Costa Rica. They young Costa Rican team played with only ten men from the 28th minute. Not only did Colombia struggle in creating chances for their normally strong strikers, they also found themselves having trouble to contain the likes of Diego Madrigal who led the attack for Costa Rica. Colombia did however find the winner, when Porto midfielder Fredy Guarin played through Hertha Berlin striker Adrian Ramos in the last minute of the first half. With that win Colombia goes top of the group ahead of Argentina and Bolivia.