Copa America 2011 1st Quarter Final: Colombia vs Peru Preview

Copa America 2011 First Quarter FinalColombia vs PeruVenue: CordobaDate: July 17 Time: 12:30 AM (IST)

As we bid goodbye to Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica and Bolivia, all eyes are now on the remaining teams who are sharpening their studs for their quarter final clashes. The first quarter final of the Copa America 2011 will witness Colombia taking on Peru at Cordoba on Saturday.

Colombia will start the match as favorites tonight being one of the most prolific teams in the competition so far. They surprised everyone by topping their group, pushing Argentina on the back-foot to the second place. They have been unbeaten in the competition with two wins and a draw against Argentina.

Their first match was a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica, their second a 0-0 draw against a misfiring Argentina and finally they turned on the class against Bolivia (who had also lost 2-0 to Costa Rica) winning with a pair of goals from Radamel Falcao.

However, things are expected to get tougher for Hernán Gómez’s boys as they enter a crucial phase of the tournament with pressure mounting. Still they are expected to make it to the Semis but things are easier said than done. Their success will once again hinge around Radamel Falcao in attack and Freddy Guarin in the midfield area to fire them through to the semi-finals of the Copa America 2011 by achieving a win against Peru.

Coach Hernan Gomez will make no change to his starting XI that earned a 2-0 victory over Bolivia in their last outing. The South American nation played on the counter attack against Argentina in the group stages but in this encounter they will lead the charge by playing an offensive formation.

Peru has also been a surprise package in this year’s Copa America as they have been punching above their weights. However, their underdog status will be put to test now in the quarter final meeting with Colombia.

Peru qualified as the best third place team even before playing their last group game against Chile after holding Argentina to a draw and wining against Bolivia. In their last game against Chile, Peru played a defensive game and defended brilliantly till the injury time when an old goal put them on the wrong side of the result,.

Coach Sergio Markarian will bring back Juan Manuel Vargas and Paolo Guerrero after being rested against Chile having already qualified for the Quarter Finals. He will probably line up with a five man midfield to contain the Colombian attack. They will play on the counter attack and try to hurt Colombia from set pieces.

Colombia: Martinez; Zuniga, Yepes, Perea, Armero; Sanchez, Guarin, Aguilar, Moreno, Ramos; Falcao.Peru: Libman, Acasiete, Vilchez, Carmona, Rodriguez; Vargas, Cruzado, Labonton, Balbin; Guerrero, Advincula.

LAST THREE MATCHES

Colombia Peru

10 Jul 2011 Colombia 2 - 0 Bolivia 12 Jul 2011 Chile 1 – 0 Peru7 Jul 2011 Argentina 0 – 0 Colombia 9 Jul 2011 Peru 1 – 0 Mexico2 Jul 2011 Colombia 1 – 0 Costa Rica 4 Jul 2011 Uruguay 1 – 1 Peru