Copa America 2011: Players to Watch in the Quarterfinals

The Copa America's Group Stage is over and the quarterfinals are now set. What should we expect? There have been huge upsets and the underdogs have been great so far. Brazil and Argentina qualified on Match Day 3 and began the tournament with two surprise draws. It has been a great Copa so far and it will only get better with the Knockout Round beginning. 

The tournament started off slow, with a bunch of low-scoring draws. But the tournament was full of goals on the final day of the Group Stage, with a total of 19 goals in the six games (12 goals in two games though).

Teams started showing their skill and the Copa America was finally delivering. Now we have the Knockout Round, meaning that all players will have to be extremely concentrated in order for their team to reach the Semi Finals. Which players will be at their very best and which players will flop?

Here's a list of the players to watch in each quarterfinal: 

Colombia vs. Peru

Date: Saturday, July 16 - 3 P.M. Eastern Time (USA)

Teams: Colombia (Winner Group A) - Peru (3rd Place Group C)

Players to Watch - Colombia: Radamel Falcao and Adrian Ramos

I feel that Colombia have been the best team so far. They have been an attacking-minded team and have been superb defensively too, not conceding a goal yet. They obtained seven points in Group A and will now be looking to overcome Peru.

Looking at Colombia's performances, their attacks involve a bunch of players, but I feel that Adrian Ramos and Radamel Falcao are the players to watch. They have both scored in this tournament and have been superb together. Falcao is involved in around 90% of Colombia's attacking plays and many of them also have Ramos.

Players to Watch - Peru: Paolo Guerrero and Juan Vargas

Peru have been one of the many underdogs of this year's Copa America, despite finishing Group C with four points and in third place. Their great performance against Uruguay on the first day was what gave them the underdog tag.

They won their second match against Mexico and were denied a draw in the last minute against Chile on the final Group Stage day. And who has scored Peru's two goals in the Copa? Paolo Guerrero. He may not be a household name outside of Germany, where he plays for Hamburg, but he has been superb in Peru's matches (he didn't play in the third GS match though).

He has been the leader of his country's attacks and has scored the goals to prove it. Another man who has been superb in attack for the Peruvian has been Juan Vargas. Vargas normally plays defense, in left back, but he has been deployed as a winger for his country in the Copa. He has only started one of Peru's matches in the Group Stage and was superb in that game. I feel that Vargas and Guerrero can pose a huge problem for the Colombian defense. 

My Prediction: Colombia win 3-1

Argentina vs. Uruguay

Date: Saturday, July 16 - 6:15 P.M. Eastern Time (USA)

Teams: Argentina (Runner-Up Group A) - Uruguay (Runner-Up Group C)

Players to Watch - Argentina: Gonzalo Higuain and Javier Zanetti

Argentina only started playing well in their third Group Stage match. They tied their opening fixtures against Bolivia and Colombia, in two encounters that they could easily have lost, but went to crush Costa Rica 3-0 to finish second in their group. Coach Sergio Baptista opted for a forward line of Lavezzi, Messi, and Tevez (which may seem great on paper) in the first two games.

With only one goal in the first two games, which was scored by substitute Sergio Aguero, Baptista made the right decision in taking Lavezzi and Tevez out and putting Gonzalo Higuain and Aguero in. The decision paid off and El Kun scored twice against Costa Rica. There is no reason why Baptista should change his team for the upcoming Quarter Final match against Uruguay. I feel that it is time for Gonzalo Higuain to shine.

He was fairly good in the only game that he started (vs. Costa Rica) despite missing a few chances. Him and Aguero, with the help of Mesi, will be great. I really believe that Higuain will score against Uruguay. Going away from the forwards for a moment, Javier Zanetti is another player to watch. He has been playing like a forward in some sense with some marauding runs forward.

The 37-year-old full-back has started every Argentina match so far and has arguably been their best and most consistent player. His chest trap/assist to Kun Aguero against Bolivia was absolutely amazing.

Players to Watch - Uruguay: Diego Forlan and Diego Lugano

Like Argentina, Uruguay began the Copa America slowly. They tied Peru in a disappointing draw and then drew against Chile. They qualified on the final day with a win against the hapless Mexico. In three games, Uruguay scored three times and only one was scored between Forlan, Suarez, and Cavani.

I thought they were supposed to be an extremely ruthless trio. And the statistics don't really explain how bad they were. Forlan missed a few amazing chances and Cavani wasn't even playing for much of the tournament. But I still feel that Argentina will have a problem with Uruguay's attack. Forlan is going to start performing against Argentina and he is certainly a player to watch.

Cavani is out injured so Forlan and Suarez will most likely be the two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation. In defense, the player to watch out for is Diego Lugano. He has been fairly good this Copa as he forms a partnership with Diego Godin. They were completely fooled by Paolo Guerrero when Uruguay faced Peru but have shaped up since then.

My Prediction: Argentina win 3-2

Brazil vs. Paraguay

Date: Sunday, July 17 - 3 P.M. Eastern Time (USA)

Teams: Brazil (Winner Group B) - Paraguay (3rd Place Group B)

Players to Watch - Brazil: Ramires and Alexandre Pato

Brazil, like many of the Copa America favorites, began their Group Stage badly with two draws in their opening two fixtures. But the team finally started to play well on the final day and were comfortable 4-2 winners against Ecuador.

Despite only obtaining a mediocre five points, Brazil still qualified top of Group B. Looking at Brazil's performances, there was one man who played reasonably well in all three matches: Ramires. The Chelsea man has always been underestimated but Mano Menezes started him in all three Group Stage games. Ramires has never been the best going forward for both club and country, but his defensive play is great. He was always there to cover when either Brazil full-back was out of position.

Ramires will once again be important when Brazil take on Paraguay. Secondly, Alexandre Pato is a player to watch. This may go without saying. Still, I feel that Pato was the best player against Ecuador and is on fire now. His opening two performances weren't good but he was kept in for the third game and it paid off. I would assume that Pato will score against Paraguay this Sunday.

Players to Watch - Paraguay: Christian Riveros and Nelson Valdez

Paraguay were great in last year's World Cup but have somewhat disappointed me in the Copa America. I am easily annoyed when teams let in late goals so you can see why I am upset with Paraguay. After their opening draw against Ecuador, Paraguay looked set to go top of Group B with four points as they were winning 2-1 against Brazil in the 89th minute. But some lackluster defending then let substitute Fred score in the dying minutes.

But that's not the game that annoys me. It's Paraguay's third match against Venezuela. Paraguay overcome an early set-back to have a 3-1 lead in the 89th minute. But, of course, Venezuela come back and, in just two minutes, the score is 3-3. Now moving forwards to the upcoming match, I feel that Brazil may not be so lucky (as they did last time) if Paraguay are at their best on Sunday. Los Guaranies have a team full of superb players, especially attacking players.

I feel that their are two main players to watch for Paraguay: Christian Riveros and Nelson Valdez. Riveros hasn't been at his best this past year with Sunderland and his Copa America performances so far hasn't been good either. But it's time for him to show and I feel that he will against Brazil (I thought he had his best GS match against Brazil).

For Nelson Valdez, he has not yet started a match in the Copa but I think he will against Brazil. Even if he doesn't, he will be a huge threat against Brazil (well he has already scored against Brazil in this Copa).

My Prediction: Brazil win 2-1 (Extra Time) 

Chile vs. Venezuela

Date: Sunday, July 17 - 6:15 P.M. Eastern Time (USA)

Teams: Chile (Winner Group C) - Venezuela (Runner-Up Group B)

Players to Watch - Chile: Humberto Suazo and Mauricio Isla

Chile finished Group C as winners, taking seven points from three matches. Many thought Uruguay to win the group, but it was Chile, just like in the World Cup, who did better than originally expected. It's fair to say that Chile should no longer be considered underdogs when they play.

They have been led by new coach Claudio Borghi and I feel they have been superb. In the upcoming match against Venezuela, Humberto Suazo is one of the players to watch. He hasn't scored yet and Chile are sticking by him. It's unfair to say that he has been bad though.

I feel that Suazo will start his scoring in this match. Another player to watch for Chile is Mauricio Isla. The Udinese midfielder has been superb so far and he's going to play a huge part in the knockout round.

Players to Watch - Venezuela: Salomon Rondon, Tomas Rincon

Venezuela, for me, have been the biggest shock of the Copa America. They have been amazing and were two goals away from topping a group that included Brazil, Paraguay, and Ecuador. Venezuela's late comeback against Paraguay just shows what underdogs are all about.

The whole team is to thank for their performances of course, but there are two main players who should be watched against Chile: Salomon Rondon and Tomas Rincon. Both players, based at Malaga and Hamburg respectively, have played a big part in the Group Stage matches and will be important in all Venezuela's attacks.  

My Prediction: Chile win 4-2

Conclusion

It seems this article isn't meant to only preview the players to watch but also discuss each team's Group Stage successes/failures. I hoped you enjoy it and please feel free to comment.

I know that many people probably will not watch the Copa America. Either they don't feel it is good enough or they don't like the broadcasts (or for another reason). But the quarterfinals is where the goals begin. Looking back at the 2007 Copa America, there were 22 goals in the four quarterfinal matches. It's true that they were all crushing results for one team but it shows that goals can be produced.

I agree that there haven't been a whole lot of goals so far but I feel that they will start coming in abundance during the Knockout Round.