Group B of Copa America provided some much-needed excitement to the tournament as it produced a couple of stirring comebacks.
After Colombia took an early lead through a stunning strike, hosts Brazil snatched a late, late winner through Casemiro to grab the Colombia 2-1 win, which preserved their perfect start to the tournament with three wins out of three.
And in the other match, Peru did not end up winning, but they did still win a point after coming back from two goals down in the second half to get a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Ecuador.
With just one round left in the group stage, Tite’s side has already wrapped up Group B with nine points from three games. Colombia have already clinched their spot in the quarter-finals, but they will be ruing their missed opportunity to snap Brazil’s winning streak.
Brazil 2-1 Colombia
Brazil breezed through their first two group games of the tournament against a virus-ravaged Venezuela and Peru, but Colombia were always going to be the hosts’ most competitive match of Group B. Los Cafeteros certainly wasted little time to show just how dangerous they were as they took a shock lead after just 10 minutes.
In what will no doubt go down as one of the top Copa America 2021 highlights, Luis Diaz connected on a Juan Cuadrado cross with a stunning, acrobatic overhead kick goal. It was the first goal Brazil had conceded in their last seven matches.
The Brazilians, after an extended layoff, struggled to create clear-cut opportunities against an organised Colombian defence for the first hour of the match. But they continued to come forward, and the cracks eventually formed in Los Cafeteros’ resistance.
Neymar should have scored the equaliser on 70 minutes after rounding David Ospina, but he could only hit the post.
However, the Selecao eventually got their goal on 78 minutes through Roberto Firmino. The Liverpool striker, who came on as a substitute, headed the ball at the feet of Ospina, who could not quite make the save.
And Brazil would break Colombia hearts as they scored the winner with virtually the last play of the game. Casemiro crept into the near post and headed in Neymar’s corner in the 10th minute of stoppage time to grab all three points.
Brazil are just making a habit out of scoring late goals lately. They have now scored six goals in the 89th minute or later in their last five games.
With the win, Brazil have now clinched top spot in Group B. Meanwhile, Colombia finish the group stage with just four points, although they have already clinched a spot in the quarter-finals.
Ecuador 2-2 Peru
Ecuador looked well on their way to getting their first win of the tournament against Peru. They took the lead on 23 minutes through an own goal by Renato Tapia. The Peru defender tried to prevent Ecuador from getting a tap-in, but in doing so he directed Pervis Estupinian’s cross into his own net.
The Ecuadorians then doubled their advantage deep into first-half stoppage time through Ayrton Preciado. The striker got on the end of a free-kick on the six-yard-box and slotted the ball into the bottom corner for his second goal, tied for the tournament lead.
Peru looked finished at that point, but they were back in the game just four minutes into the second half as Gianluca Lapadula pulled a goal back with a well-taken left-footed finish.
And five minutes later, Peru produced an equaliser. Lapadula got in behind the Ecuadorian defence and squared the ball to Andre Carrillo, who made no mistake with his finish.
Neither side came all that close to snatching a winner, but Peru will definitely feel like the winners after getting a point despite going two goals down. Ecuador controlled 57 per cent of possession and had a significant 16-7 shot advantage over Peru, and after conceding a late equaliser against Venezuela, they will be very disappointed at dropping two more points.
Peru have bounced back well from their 4-0 defeat to Brazil in their tournament opener. They are now on four points from three matches and are in good shape for the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Ecuador will still be sweating out qualification until their final group game, which will be against Brazil.
If Ecuador lose to Brazil, which the Copa America 2021 betting odds suggest they will, and Venezuela get at least a point against Peru, then Ecuador would finish fifth in the group and would be out of the tournament.
Ecuador’s best hope is that Tite will decide rest many of his stars ahead of the quarter-finals. But even still, Brazil have a deep and talented squad that even the reserves could go out and get the win.
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