With the group stage of this year’s Copa America tournament coming to a close last night, eight teams prepare to battle it out in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will feature South American powers like Argentina and Chile (ranked No. 1 and No. 5 in FIFA’s international rankings), but the next knockout round will also feature unexpected group stage survivors Peru and Venezuela.
With the U.S. Men’s National Team kicking off the quarter-final stage of the Centenario tomorrow, here’s what to expect watching these four fierce match-ups.
USA v. Ecuador
Thursday, June 16
8:30 p.m. CT
Watch: Univision, FS1
The USMNT emerged from the group stage with two victories under its belt. After falling 2-0 to Colombia in the first match of the Centenario tournament, the Americans came back to vanquish Costa Rica with an astounding 4-0 victory before cementing their spot in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win against Paraguay.
Ecuador, on the other hand, escaped the group stage more narrowly — drawing both Brazil and Peru before claiming a spot in the next stage of the competition with an unsurprising 4-0 victory over Haiti. Ecuador entered the tournament ranked 13th in FIFA's international rankings, while Haiti landed significantly further down the standings at 71st.
Ecuador and the USA went head-to-head once before in Copa America in 1993, when Ecuador downed the Americans 2-0 to advance to the quarter-finals. The countries have faced off 11 times over the course of their histories, with Ecuador leading the series 5-3-3. But the USA looks to repeat its performance from prior to the 2016 Copa America tournament, when Jurgen's men took down the Ecuadoreans 1-0 in the May 25th friendly.
Peru v. Colombia
Friday, June 17
7:00 p.m. CT
Watch: Univision, FS1
It's easy to expect a match between a team ranked third in the world and a team ranked 48th in the world to be a blowout, but the history of play between these two South American sides says otherwise. While Colombia does lead the series, it's only by two wins. The third-place team hasa 17-15-20 all-time record over their opponents. Meanwhile, Peru holds the upper hand in Copa America play, with three straight wins in tournament play against their northern neighbors.
And Peru has a particularly strong showing in the group stage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario. The team opened their tournament run with a 1-0 victory over Haiti before tying 13th place Ecuador 2-2 only four days later. Peru's most shocking performance, however, came in its final match of the group stage, when the team managed to pull out a 1-0 victory over powerhouse Brazil and consequently ending the Brazilians' 2016 Copa America campaign.
Colombia, on the other hand, clinched a place in the quarter-finals early after defeating both USA and Paraguay in its first two matches of the tournament before falling to Costa Rica 3-2 to end the group stage.
Argentina v. Venezuela
Saturday, June 18
6:00 p.m. CT
Watch: Univision, FX
If any quarter-final match were to be considered a David-and-Goliath style battle, it would be this one. Argentina currently tops FIFA's rankings, while Venezuela falls a full 76 places behind in the standings. The underdog nation opened its Copa America campaign with a 1-0 victory over Jamaica before shocking soccer fans with a 1-0 victory over 7th place Uruguay in the second round of the group stage. The team went on to tie Mexico to close out its run in the group stage. The South American nation looks to continue its strong showing in the tournament with a massive upset against Argentina this Saturday to move on to the semi-finals.
But Argentina won't be taken down easily. The team is, of course, No. 1 in the world for a reason, having defeated all three opponents in the group stage. Argentina edged out Chile in its first match of the tournament with a score of 2-1 before clobbering Panama and Bolivia 5-0 and 3-0, respectively.
The last time Venezuela and Argentina came face-to-face was March 22, 2013, when Argentina downed Venezuela 3-0. But Venezuela has claimed a victory over Argentina before in October of 2011, when Venezuela managed to secure a 1-0 victory over their opponents.
Mexico v. Chile
Saturday, June 18
9:00 p.m. CT
Watch: Univision, FX
No. 5 Chile will take on No. 16 Mexico to close out the Copa America Centenario quarter-finals on Saturday night following the match between Argentina and Venezuela. Mexico claimed wins in its first two games of the group stage, defeating Uruguay 3-1 and Jamaica 2-0 before drawing Venezuela 1-1. Chile, on the other hand, began with a nail-biting 2-1 loss to Argentina, but salvaged its place in the quarter-finals after both Bolivia and Panama.
The teams last came head-to-head in a tune-up for this year's Copa America tournament on June 1 — a mere two days before the tournament kicked off in Santa Clara, California. In the friendly, Mexico managed to edge out Chile by 1-0 with a late goal by Javier Hernandez. The teams also faced off last summer — a match which ended in a 3-3 draw.
Keep up with all the action of the 2016 Copa America Centenario at No Other Pub in Kansas City Power & Light District. Soccer fans watching this year's tournament can receive a free appetizer when they purchase a pitcher of beer.
