When both Ecuador and Japan could not find their way towards a decisive victory it was Paraguay who was actually celebrating.
Both Ecuador and Japan had a 1-1 draw in their Copa America match on Monday that resulted in their automatic elimination from the Copa America. This elimination has allowed Paraguay to take a spot in the upcoming quarterfinals.
Paraguay suffered a defeat to Colombia in their Group B match on Sunday but they still celebrated as they got the result they have been looking for; being one of the top two-third finishers of the tournament.
Uruguay won the second place after they defeat Chile by 1-0 on Monday night in Rio. Uruguay ended with 7 points which are two more points than the two-time defending champions; Chile.
As for the guest team Japan, they finished with 2 points while Ecuador finished with 1 point. As for the other third-place team which advanced to the quarterfinals is Peru which had 4 points for Group A.
Hernán Darío Gómez, coach of Ecuador said, “Japan is a team that is often underestimated but it is a well organized as well as dynamic team. Our players played relay hard, it was not their fault at all.”
With the elimination round concluding, the quarterfinals will see matches like Brazil VS Paraguay, Venezuela VS Argentina, Colombia VS Chile and Uruguay VS Peru.
The match was an open one that was seen by a crowd of 7623 held at the Mineirao Stadium and both teams were in need of this win to progress into the quarterfinals.
This was the first time since 1999 that Japan has played as a guest team in Copa America. At that time, it was eliminated in the group stage.
As for Ecuador, it has only won 2 of its last 18 Copa America matches since 2004. It also earlier lost to Uruguay and Chile in their other matches this year alone.
Related Content
