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A fascinating Copa America comes to an end this weekend with the final between Uruguay and Paraguay.
In a tournament that has been full of shocks, with Argentina and Brazil crashing out at the quarter-final stage, the Uruguayans are favourites to become the 2011 Copa America champions.
They have progressed to the final thanks to a 2-0 victory over Peru at the semi-final stage. Two second-half goals from Liverpool striker Luis Suárez helped them to victory and they are no expected to go all the way.
As for Paraguay, they have made it to the final without actually winning a game. They drew all three of their group games before two 0-0 draws in the knock out stages followed by penalty shoot-out victories.
This is a rather bizarre path to the final, but they have performed when it counts and held their nerve under the vast pressure of the penalties.
Goals have no doubt been a problem for them. They have managed only five goals in the competition so far and they all came in two games during the group stages.
This adds to the reasons why Uruguay are favourites. They have some excellent players in their team and have plenty of people capable of scoring goals.
They will no doubt be tested by what has been a resilient Paraguay defence, but in a game that they should dominate possession, they will get plenty of chances on goal.
The favourites will want to make sure they get the job done in normal time too. If it goes all the way to penalties, it becomes a lottery and Paraguay have a great record for victories in this situation.
Before this final takes place, there is a third-fourth place play-off match to take place between Peru and Venuezela. Both teams will be delighted with their progress in this year’s competition.
They made the semi-finals against all the odds and to finish third overall would be the icing on the cake for either side.
It is a tough one to call as they sides are evenly matched, perhaps it will come down to which of them has maintained their focus following defeat in the last game.
The big one is Uruguay v Paraguay on Sunday though. This is the game millions of people will be watching to see who becomes the 2011 Champions.
