Copa América 2019

[Jah Womble]

Venezuela should go for broke - Peru have had two goals chalked off (correctly, admittedly), a numerical advantage and opportunities galore but can't get ahead. Surely the gods are with Venezuela here...

[cantagalo]

Ah Soteldo coming on. He's been great at Santos this season. Hope he can manage to get on the ball.

[cantagalo]

Well done, Venezuela.

[Wouter D]

Things are not going well for Argentina.

[cantagalo]

Just caught up with the highlights. Two lovely goals by Colombia.

[Diable Rouge]

Qatar very poor so far - almost concede straight from the kick-off, and then promptly give away a penalty which is duly converted.

[Diable Rouge]

The Asian champions improve, but just miss an open goal.

[jason voorhees]

Tacuara (Oscar Cardozo) hit a 55-yard goal against The Strongest, which was the first time I ever saw one of those live. Happy to see him score.

[Diable Rouge]

Qatar have stormed back in this half, with a screamer and an excellent counter-attack to level the game at 2-2.

[cantagalo]

Re: Qatar

It's totally conceivable for a 0-0 or 1-1 tie with Paraguay given the latter's recent form.

Good call.

After looking like a pub team in the first few minutes, Qatar worked their way back into the game and deserved to be level at half time. I thought Cardozo's screamer had finished them off but Almoez Ali outdid him for goal of the game and the equaliser had me out of my seat. Qatar played some good stuff and had pace and inventiveness in attack. I enjoyed their performance and the match.

The official attendance was given as 19,162 but I doubt whether there were half that number there.

[Jah Womble]

Pretty sparse attendance for the Uruguay/Ecuador match as well. (Nowt compared to the Haiti/Bermuda Gold Cup fixture, however, at which there looked to be more people on the pitch than in the stands.)

Fine control and finish by Lodeiro gives Uruguay an early lead...

[ursus arctos]

Cavani having himself a game.

Could have three with some.luck, just got his first.

[ursus arctos]

Suarez gets the third. Ecuador are getting torn to pieces.

[Jah Womble]

Some very tidy finishes. (Shame that Ecuador are down to ten, though.)

[jason voorhees]

It has been so awesome seeing that weightlifting Brasilian ref watching tv and talking on his headset for hours on end during URU-ECU-RWTV (Ref Watching TV.) It's awesome that the refs and players now get to watch endless replays and the game along with all of us sitting on our asses at home!

I loved that official hand motions for "I previously show you yellow.....pull out said yellow and now point at yellow I show you....now deftly maneuver yellow to thumb and ring finger and pinkie and thumb whilst holding two index fingers up and now moving said index fingers side to side in a "X" to a "I I" to an "X" to an "I I" fashion to signal "even though I show you that yellow, we pretend I no show you yellow and now I reach for rear right ass cheek pocket as I grab red for going up for a header with a forearm shot which was really a yellow."

Qatar today reminded me of my shame and absolute hatred for Sunil Ghoulati and that shameful 2007 tournament for the US, when we sent such Star-Spangled stalwarts as Bobby Boswell, Heath Pearce, Charlie Davies, and whatever other shitstained bumblefuck tits-on-a-bull nobodies we had the audacious disrespect for South America's invitation to send as our Z team. I mean Qatar played balls-out brilliantly today, and gave a beyond respectable showing. They should have won.

(That said, not that Paraguay is of the 1986 or 1998 or 2010 vintage...as one of my students said a few days ago, "Mr. Voorhees. We tie Honduras 1-1. Brasil beat them 7-0. OH MY GOH WE TRASH!" )

[cantagalo]

I may be making too many assumptions here but three days into the tournament, it looks very much like the three group winners and probable semi-finalists will be Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia.

I haven't the faintest idea who the fourth semi-finalist will be. Anyone got any predictions?

[jason voorhees]

Would have to be between Japan and Chile. Don't underestimate "Defending Championsitis," especially with a team that missed the World Cup on their last ride.

[Sporting]

I don't think Argentina can be ruled out just yet.

[cantagalo]

Trying to answer my own question, the route to the semi avoiding the 3 group winners is through the quarter final between the runners up in Group A and B.

This would mean Peru, Venezuela or Bolivia meeting either Argentina, Paraguay or Qatar. So I'd definitely go for a team from Group B.

[ursus arctos]

Fair to say that Chile-Japan has not packed the Morumbi

[cantagalo]

The Brazilian press has been giving the organising committee some real stick about this today. The empty stadiums are an embarrassment.

There should be a far bigger crowd than this. Chileans always travel in good numbers and there are more Japanese in São Paulo than any city outside Japan.

[ursus arctos]

Then again, they have not missed anything worthwhile in the first 30 minutes

[cantagalo]

Chile on top now and 1-0 up without being particularly impressive.

I think the best game so far has been Paraguay v Qatar and I never thought I'd be saying that.

[cantagalo]

Vargas. 2-0.

Strange to think he used to play for QPR.

[cantagalo]

Rubbing it in now. 4-0.

Sanchez and Vargas.