Final of the tournament
Brazil
Peru
The 2019 America’s Cup, organised by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), was hosted by Brazil from 14 June to 7 July. The tournament attracted 12 national teams, including specially invited teams from Qatar and Japan, continuing a tradition of expanding participation beyond South America that began in 1993. Mexico, long a regular visitor to the tournament, did not participate this time, making way for new entrants. The Mundial was held in 6 stadiums in five cities, some of which were arenas of the 2014 World Cup.
Copa America 2019 divided the participating teams into three groups, with four teams in each group. The first and second place teams in their groups, as well as the top two teams in the third places, qualified for the playoffs. This structure allowed for more matches in the playoffs and made the tournament more exciting and unpredictable.
FIFA group composition:
- Group A: Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru.
- Group B: Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Qatar.
- Group C: Uruguay, Ecuador, Japan, Chile.
Brazil, playing as the host of the tournament, performed well, winning all matches in their group without conceding a goal, scoring a total of 8 goals.
The America’s Cup 2019 has become not only a celebration of football sport, but also an opportunity for many teams to demonstrate their potential on the international stage, and for fans - a unique chance to see the meetings of the strongest national teams of South America and invited guests from other regions.
Copa America 2019 stadium list:
- Maracana (Rio de Janeiro).
- Arena Corinthians (SΓ£o Paulo)
- MineirΓ£o (Belo Horizonte).
- Arena do Gremio (Porto Alegre)
- Fonte Nova (Salvador)
- Arena Pernambuco (Recife)
Copa America 2019: Group Stage
Group A
- Brazil: 7 points
- Venezuela: 5 points
- Peru: 4 points
- Bolivia: 0 points
In Group A, Brazil confirmed their status as favourites with 7 points thanks to wins over Bolivia and Peru and a draw against Venezuela, who also progressed with a solid performance to finish second with 5 points. Peru, despite losing to Brazil, managed to reach the quarter-finals, finishing third in the group with 4 points.
Brazil defeated Bolivia 3-0, then drew 0-0 with Venezuela, and finished the group stage by defeating Peru 5-0. Venezuela and Peru failed to produce a winner, playing to a 0-0 draw. Venezuela also beat Bolivia 3-1. Peru, in addition to drawing with Venezuela and losing to Brazil, defeated Bolivia 3-1.
Group B
- Colombia: 9 points
- Argentina: 4 points
- Paraguay: 2 points
- Qatar: 1 point
In Group B, Colombia demonstrated a confident game, winning all three matches and taking first place with 9 points. Argentina, although they started the tournament with a loss to Colombia, managed to rectify the situation and reach the play-offs, finishing in second place with 4 points.
Colombia defeated each of their opponents including Argentina (2-0), Qatar (1-0) and Paraguay (1-0). Argentina, after starting with a loss to Colombia, played to a 1-1 draw with Paraguay before beating Qatar 2-0. Paraguay and Qatar drew 2-2 in their opening match. Qatar, as the owner of the 2022 World Cup, failed in the tournament.
Group C
- Uruguay: 7 points
- Chile: 6 points
- Japan: 2 points
- Ecuador: 1 point
Group C was dominated by Uruguay, who picked up 7 points after beating Ecuador and Chile and drawing with Japan. Chile also showed good football and finished second with 6 points, securing their place in the next round.
Uruguay started the tournament with a solid 4-0 win over Ecuador, drew 2-2 with Japan, and defeated Chile 1-0. Chile started with a big 4-0 win over Japan, then beat Ecuador 2-1, but lost to Uruguay. Japan drew 1-1 with Ecuador, in addition to a draw with Uruguay and a loss to Chile.
Thus, the teams of Brazil, Venezuela, Peru from Group A, Colombia and Argentina from Group B, as well as Uruguay and Chile from Group C made it to the quarter-final round of the America’s Cup Playoffs 2019, demonstrating a high level of skill and the desire to win every match.
1/4 Final
- Brazil vs Paraguay: 0:0 (penalty shootout 4:3). At the quarter-final stage of the America’s Cup Brazil and Paraguay could not determine the winner in regulation and extra time, the game ended without goals. The Brazilians were stronger in the penalty shootout, winning 4-3.
- Venezuela vs Argentina: 0:2. Failed World Cup 2018 Argentina secured their place in the semi-finals thanks to goals from Martinez in the 10th minute and Lo Celso in the 74th minute in a 2-0 win over Venezuela.
- Colombia v Chile: 0-0 (penalty shootout 4-5). An intense battle between Colombia and Chile also failed to produce a winner in regulation and extra time, ending in a nil-nil draw. In the final penalty shootout, Chile won 5-4.
- Uruguay v Peru: 0:0 (penalty shootout 4:5). The match between Uruguay and Peru ended goalless and again it came down to penalties, where Peru was more accurate, winning 5-4 and advancing to the semi-finals.
1/2 Final
- Brazil vs Argentina: 2-0. Brazil faced Argentina in the semi-finals and won convincingly 2-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus in the 19th minute and Robert Firmin in the 71st minute.
- Chile v Peru: 0:3. Peru sensationally defeated Chile 3-0 thanks to goals from Flores in the 21st minute, Jotun in the 38th minute and Guerrero in the 90+1 minute, securing their place in the final of the tournament.
Match for 3rd place
Argentina vs Chile: 2:1. Argentina secured third place at the America’s Cup with a 2-1 win over Chile. AgΓΌero scored for Argentina in the 12th minute and Dybala in the 22nd minute, while Vidal closed the gap for Chile with a penalty in the 59th minute.
Final
Brazil vs Peru: 3-1. Brazil defeated Peru 3-1 in the final. Everton opened the scoring in the 15th minute, but Guerrero equalised by converting a penalty in the 44th minute. However, Gabriel Jesus restored Brazil’s lead by scoring on 45+3 minutes and Ricarlison consolidated the win by converting a penalty in the 90th minute, bringing Brazil the 2019 America’s Cup title.
FAQ
At Copa America 2019, the title of top scorer was won by Everton Soares of Brazil with 3 goals that helped his team to succeed and win the championship. Peruvian Paolo Guerrero also has 3 goals. The first matches showed a lot of interesting names but Everton stood out.
Two matches that were particularly memorable for fans were the semi-final between Brazil and Argentina, where Brazil won 2-0, and the final match of the tournament, where Brazil defeated Peru 3-1 to win the 2021 Copa America title. The first matches were not as memorable.
The big disappointment of the tournament is the Argentine national team. Despite high expectations and the presence of star Lionel Messi in the team, the Argentines failed to perform at their best and were defeated by Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa America 2019.
One of the most discussed moments of the tournament was the story of the Peruvian goalkeeper, Pedro Gallese, who, after being criticised for his poor performance in the group stage, became a hero in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, deflecting several important penalties. In addition, the participation of invited teams from Qatar and Japan added exoticism to the Copa America 2021 tournament and showed that the sport of football knows no borders.