The 2011 Copa America is now in full swing with Venezuela and Colombia being the first teams through to the knockout phase. Los Cafeteros will top Group A after defeating Bolivia 2-0 in Santa Fe on Sunday thanks to a double from Porto star Radamel Falcao.
The in-demand striker received a perfect through-ball from Dayro Moreno before slotting with ease past Carlos Arias in the 14th minute before converting from the penalty spot just under 15 minutes later.
Colombia finished the group stage with two wins and a draw to be clear on top of Costa Rica and Argentina who sit second and third respectively ahead of their match today.
In Group B, Brazil escaped a potentially embarrassing loss thanks to a last-minute goal from Fred to enable them to draw 2-2 with Paraguay.
The Samba Kings opened the scoring through Jadson seven minutes before the break with a shot from distance which beat Paraguay's Justo Villar but the lead only lasted ten minutes in the second half when Roque Santa Cruz leveled for La Albirroja.
Nelson Vidal replaced Lucas Barrios to put his side ahead with a 66th minute strike but Brazil substitute Fred came on for Neymar in the final ten minutes and managed to get the fourth and final goal of the match to force a draw.
In the other Group B match on Saturday, Venezuela jumped to the top of the table with a 1-0 victory over Ecuador thanks to Cesar Gonzalez' 61st minute drive from 25 yards. Venezuela are now through to the quarter-finals ahead of their final group match with Paraguay on Wednesday whilst Brazil need to beat Ecuador to get through.
Group C action on Friday saw Barcelona target Alexis Sanchez score an equaliser for Chile in their 1-1 draw with Uruguay whilst Peru effectively ended Mexico's time in the tournament with a 1-0 result leaving El Tri at the foot of the table with no points.
2011 Copa America - Argentina
Group A
Friday July 1Argentina: 1 (Sergio Aguero 75') Bolivia: 1 (Edvaldo Rojas 48') Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata
Saturday July 2Colombia: 1 (Adrian Ramos 45') Costa Rica: 0 (red card: Randall Brenes 27') Estadio 23 de Agosto, Jujuy
Wednesday July 6Argentina: 0 Colombia: 0 Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez, Santa Fe
Thursday June 7Bolivia: 0 (red cards: Ronald Rivero 70', Walter Flores 75') Costa Rica: 2 (Jose Martinez 58', Joel Campbell 78') Estadio 23 de Agosto, Jujuy
Sunday July 10Colombia: 2 (Radamel Falcao 14'/(p) 28') Bolivia:0 Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez, Santa Fe
Group B
Brazil: 0 Venezuela: 0 Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata
Paraguay: 0 Ecuador: 0 Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez, Santa Fe
Saturday July 9Brazil: 2 (Jadson 38', Fred 89') Paraguay: 2 (Roque Santa Cruz 54', Nelson Valdez 66') Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Cordoba
Venezuela: 1 (Cesar Gonzalez 61') Ecuador: 0 Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta
Group C
Uruguay: 1 (Luis Suarez 45') Peru: 1 (Paolo Guerrero 23') Estadio del Bicentenario, San Juan
Chile: 2 (Esteban Paredes 66', Arturo Vidal 72') Mexico: 1 (Nestor Araujo 40') Estadio del Bicentenario, San Juan
Friday July 8Uruguay: 1 (Alvaro Pereira 53') Chile: 1 (Alexis Sanchez 64') Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
Peru: 1 (Jose Guerrero 82') Mexico: 0 Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
