Match 7 - Colombia 2-1 Paraguay
Veteran midfielder James Rodríguez provided the passes which led to both of Colombia's goals in a dominant first half display. Paraguay's second half goal was a just reward for the way they soaked up pressure but otherwise went toe-to-toe with Colombia on shots, corners, and touches in the opposition box.
Match 8 - Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica
The 47 ranking places between the two teams is not the largest in the competition (USA are 74 places higher than Bolivia) but it's fair to say Costa Rica holding 9 time competition winners Brazil to a goalless draw is the surprise of the first round of group matches. The reality is Brazil should have been able to translate 73% of possession and 49 touches in the opposition box to more than 3 shots on target. They did net once, but VAR showed Marquinhos to be offside.
| Match Number | Teams | 1st Half Score | 2nd Half Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match | Colombia v Paraguay | 2-0 | 0-1 | 2-1 |
| Match | Brazil v Costa Rica | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Total Matchday Goals | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Total Tournament Goals | 6 | 9 | 15 |
The first round is now over and tomorrow round two begins with:
| Team A | Team B | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Peru | Canada | Kansas City, KS |
| Argentina | Chile | East Rutherford, NJ |
text by stuartcturnbull art by CONMEBOL & altered by stuartcturnbull