Peru's Win Proves They Are a Genuine Threat to Chile in Copa America Semi-Final

Bolivia versus Peru was not the fixture neutrals wanted to see in a Copa America quarter-final, but Thursday night's showdown between the two teams in Temuco proved extremely entertaining and sparked cause for optimism ahead of the semis.

Paolo Guerrero drew level with Arturo Vidal as the tournament's top scorer by netting a stunning hat-trick in a crushing 3-1 victory for Peru.

Los Incas were heavily fancied pre-match, so the dominant manner of the victory did not surprise. They started on the front foot, with Jefferson Farfan surging into the box and forcing a corner immediately, and Ricardo Gareca's men capitalised on their fast start with two Guerrero goals inside the first half-hour.

Farfan hit the woodwork twice and missed a few more chances as Peru toiled to increase their advantage and secure passage. But eventually, the third came via Guerrero, who latched onto a shocking back-pass to slot home. Marcelo Martins Moreno netted a consolatory penalty late on for Bolivia.

Peru will face hosts Chile in the semi-final on Monday at the Estadio Nacional, where they'll revert to their usual tag of underdogs. The hosts already secured a 5-0 victory in the group stage and saw off Uruguay in the first quarter-final. They continue to roll onward despite a DUI-shaped setback affecting key man Vidal.

Alexis Sanchez is purring despite perhaps not making the expected impact on the scoresheet, Eduardo Vargas has recovered from injury to play a role, and Mauricio Isla is back to fine form. Most notably, Jorge Valdivia has sparkled as a delightful, traditional No. 10, ripping defences to shreds and serving up both goals and assists.

But the manner of Peru's goals against Bolivia should cause concern to Jorge Sampaoli and his La Roja team; they're weak defensively—even weaker now that Gonzalo Jara is set to serve a suspension—and the type of strikes Gareca's men are capable of are the sort which should keep opponents up at night.

Take Guerrero's first from Thursday: Juan Manuel Vargas arced a stunning cross into the penalty box, and the Peruvian No. 9 sprung into the air to power a bullet header past Romel Quinonez in the Bolivia goal.

For the second—scored just a minute later—Christian Cuevas lifted a delicate pass in behind the defensive line, and Guerrero made a good run before coolly, calmly slotting home one-on-one. Game over, 25 minutes gone.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

There's absolutely no doubt Chile's Claudio Bravo is a stronger goalkeeper than Quinonez—he's the clear best at the tournament, in fact. But even an improvement between the sticks does not remove the obvious truth: The goals Peru scored—the goals that outlined their superiority on Thursday night—can be scored against Chile, and they can be scored at will if all goes to plan.

Farfan, Vargas, Cueva and Luis Advincula use the flanks superbly, and they'll apply positive pressure to Isla and Eugenio Mena. The Peru front two of Guerrero and Claudio Pizarro will dwarf Gary Medel in the box and hold an inherent advantage in the air. Direct passes can also slice La Roja open.

Chile still stand favourites to progress to the final, with 45,000-plus home fans roaring them on in both hope and expectation. But Los Incas have proven in three of their four games in this tournament that they can be a force to be reckoned with, and their attacking capabilities mesh well with the hosts' defensive frailties.

So long as Peru can actually nick the ball off Chile, they stand a genuine chance of a seismic upset.

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