Copa America Results 2015: Latest Group Tables, Schedule After Chile vs. Mexico
The second round of group-stage fixtures for the 2015 Copa America kicked off on Monday in Chile as the four teams in Group A attempted to strengthen their chances of advancement.
Ecuador met Bolivia in the day's first match, and an intriguing clash between Chile and Mexico followed to bring a close to the night.
Below, you'll find updated standings and the schedule for the rest of the group stage, in addition to a recap of Monday's action.
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Group Tables
| Group A | ||||||
| Chile | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Bolivia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Mexico | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ecuador | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 |
| Group B | ||||||
| Uruguay | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Argentina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Group C | ||||||
| Brazil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Peru | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Colombia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Group-Stage Schedule
| Tues., June 16 | ||||
| 5 p.m. | B | Paraguay | Jamaica | Antofagasta |
| 7:30 p.m. | B | Argentina | Uruguay | La Serena |
| Wed., June 17 | ||||
| 8 p.m. | C | Brazil | Colombia | Santiago |
| Thurs., June 18 | ||||
| 7:30 p.m. | C | Peru | Venezuela | Valparaiso |
| Fri., June 19 | ||||
| 5 p.m. | A | Mexico | Ecuador | Rancagua |
| 7:30 p.m. | A | Chile | Bolivia | Santiago |
| Sat., June 20 | ||||
| 3 p.m. | B | Uruguay | Paraguay | La Serena |
| 5:30 p.m. | B | Argentina | Jamaica | Vina del Mar |
| Sun., June 21 | ||||
| 3 p.m. | C | Colombia | Peru | Temuco |
| 5:30 p.m. | C | Brazil | Venezuela | Santiago |
Monday Recap
Bolivia kicked off Monday with a major 3-2 upset of Ecuador. The two teams are separated by 58 places in the FIFA rankings, and El Verde managed to come out on top after Ronald Raldes, Martin Smedberg-Dalence and Marcelo Moreno all got on the scoresheet in the first half.
Ecuador responded with goals in the second half from Enner Valencia and Miller Bolanos, but they were unable to find an equalizer in the final nine minutes.
"There are a lot of people who didn't have faith in Bolivia," said national team coach Mauricio Soria, per the Associated Press' Diego Zuniga (h/t the San Francisco Chronicle). "But we showed we can fight."
Over the years, Bolivia have proven tough to beat at altitude in La Paz. When they leave their home soil, though, they become a much less dangerous team. In fact, before Monday, their last competitive win from outside the country was all the way back in 1995, per football writer Jonathan Wilson.
The exhilaration caused by Bolivia's performance in the first half was replaced by a more nervous energy in the second half as they looked to preserve their lead.
Valencia scored Ecuador's first goal just three minutes into the half, which didn't look to be a good sign for things to come. However, Bolivia defended well, with football writer Paul Sarahs noting that Soria wasn't afraid to throw a lot of players behind the ball:
"Bolivia's back 9 are doing a decent job here.
— Paul Sarahs (@PaulSarahs) June 15, 2015"
BeIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri put it best regarding the final result:
As if Monday's first match didn't provide enough excitement in the Copa America, Chile and Mexico played to a 3-3 draw to wrap up the evening's festivities.
Arturo Vidal put the hosts ahead from the spot in the 55th minute, but Matias Vuoso canceled out that strike in the 66th minute as both teams tried and failed to find a winner over the final 24 minutes plus injury time.
ESPN FC's Tom Marshall couldn't have been happier with the result for El Tri:
Mexico coach Miguel Herrera is having to juggle both the Copa America and Gold Cup this summer, so he has to effectively split his national team squad into two separate entities. The team he took to Chile is widely viewed as his second-best, so to see those players hold Chile to a 3-3 draw is undoubtedly a positive result.
Mexico did, however, get a bit lucky near the end as Alexis Sanchez looked to have put Chile on top in the 80th minute. The linesman whistled for offside, wiping off the potential goal.
You can view a replay of the goal below, courtesy of beIN Sports USA, and decide for yourself what the correct call was:
Chile might have reason to feel a bit aggrieved, but they did themselves no favors by going behind twice in the match.
Vuoso scored in the 21st minute to put Mexico ahead 1-0 before Vidal equalized. In the 29th minute, Raul Jimenez gave Mexico a 2-1 lead only to have Chile equalize again, this time via Eduardo Vargas.
Chile can be a great side in the attack when they have possession. Few sides are more entertaining to watch in international football. Mexico demonstrated that La Roja can still be a bit vulnerable on the counterattack.
Some Chileans might be upset to have taken only one point from Monday's match, but the hosts sit atop Group A on goal differential. They also have Bolivia in their final match of the group stage, which should be a win.
In short, things could be much worse for Chile at the moment.
