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Four teams will be fighting it out for a place in the Copa America 2011 final this week as the competition reaches the semi-final stage.
There are some unexpected teams in the final four, with pre-tournament favourites Argentina and Brazil crashing out in the quarter-finals.
Much fancied Chile are absent too with the semi-final line-up made up by Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela.
Peru v Uruguay
The first semi-final takes place later tonight when the tournament’s surprise packages Peru take on new favourites for the tournament Uruguay.
Peru progressed to this stage with victory over Colombia in the quarter-finals. They secured a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Carlos Lobatón and Juan Vargas in injury time.
They have impressed many with the handling of the big occasion throughout the tournament and have victories over Mexico and Colombia to show for it. Their tight defence has been a big part of their success.
As for Uruguay, they will have to handle the pressure of being favourites in this match. This is in contrast to their quarter-final clash against Argentina where they pulled off a shock to progress on penalties.
Carlos Tevez missed the crucial penalty for the hosts as Uruguay held their nerve and found the back of the net with all five of their spot kicks.
Now they need to regroup and focus on Peru, making sure they don’t underestimate their semi-final opponents.
Paraguay v Venezuela
The second semi-final takes place tomorrow night with conquerors of Brazil Paraguay taking on an ever improving Venezuela.
The Paraguayans they came out on top in a penalty shoot-out in the last round with their opponents Brazil embarrassingly missing all four of their penalties. They then scored the two they required to progress.
It has been a strange tournament for them so far as they have yet to actually win a game in normal time with three draws in the group stage followed by a 0-0 draw with Brazil in the quarter-finals.
As for Venezuela, they have been a breath of fresh air in Copa America 2011, playing their part in some of the most entertaining matches of the tournament.
These two sides have already met in this year’s competition, playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw in the group stages. Hopefully they will produce more of the same tomorrow night.
So, Uruguay are the favourites to become Copa America Champions, but if the action during the quarter-finals is anything to go by, nothing is certain.
