PERU 2-0 COLOMBIA

Peru won!!!! Yes, Colombia had most of the chances. Yes, Falcao missed a penelty kick. Yes, Moreno and Guarin both hit the post. But…PERU WON! 2-0 in extra time on some great shots. Both were helped with some goalie errors, but still, they were missles. Colombia had this one in the bag for most of the game with Peru being forced into playing the long ball and hoping for the best. Most of their good chances were outside the box and there weren’t many of them. Colombia controlled the ball for the most of the game but just couldn’t find that finishing touch

The game took a turn for the worse when the Peruvian defender, Rodriguez took down a Colombian in the box which resulted in a pk. I thought it was over for sure especially with Flacao stepping up to take the kick. Boy was I wrong. He missed the shot wide left. That didn’t deter the Colombians though. They still attacked and got plenty of opportunities. With one shot coming from Guarin where he blasted it over the Peruvian goalie Fernandez’s head hitting the crossbar flush. Somehow the Peruvians managed to get the game into extra-time.

In extra-time Peru managed to capitalize on a couple of mistakes by the Colombian keeper who has been pretty good throughout the tournament (No goals allowed by Colombia until this game). Coming off of a free kick, the goalie came off of his line and was unable to gather it, punching it out to Lobaton who was waiting outside of the box. “El Lobo” ran up to it striking it first time and sending it directly into the top left corner. 1-0. In the second half of extra-time Peru capitilized once again on the Colombian goalie’s woes. Guerrero intercepted a poor clearance by the goalie, took the ball into the box, laid it off for Vargas, who settled it and blasted it into the back of the net. No chance for the goalie. See for yourself.

Up next for Peru is Uruguay. As many of you may remember, these two teams played to a 1-1 draw. Every game Peru plays, I feel like they are not going to win. But every game they come out and surprise me with their play. I don’t even know what to think anymore.

ARGENTINA 1-1 URUGUAY (4-5) on pks

Messi again just putting passes on the money for his teammates to no avail. Uruguay’s defense held up even with Perez getting a red card towards the end of the first half. They later took the game into pks and did not miss one shot while Tevez missed his, and cost Argentina a spot in the semifinals. This Argentinean team will be remembered as the team that just underachieved. The whole tournament they we were unable to live up to the big names that were on the roster. I’ll leave you with the highlights and call it good.

BRAZIL 0-0 PARAGUAY (0-2)

On to the other underachiever of this tournament. Brazil had one win in the entire tournament like Argentina and lost in pks like Argentina. They just couldn’t find a way to get the ball in the back of the net. They had all of the chances in the game to score but they just couldn’t do it. Not even in pks could they score. They missed all 4 of their spot kicks. It looked like the turf on the penalty spot was bad because every time Brazil missed they would turn and look at the spot. No excuse for a team of this caliber though. Also looked like Neymar might have tweaked his knee in the second half because he had to come off. Anyways, Paraguay did just enough to move on and Brazil is sent home. Not a good start to the cycle leading up to a World Cup on their home soil. Highlights

VENEZUELA 2-1 CHILE

The other surprise team in this semifinals is Venezuela. They have played exceptionally well and knocked off a very good Chilean team to get to where they are now. This was a very good game with both teams going back and forth and Venezuela eventually coming out on top. It’s funny how two of the worst teams in South America are in the semifinals. I wonder how they will fare in qualifying for the World Cup. Hopefully well, for Peru’s sake. Highlights