Brazil has clinched their 9th Copa America crown with a 3-1 win over Peru in the Final that took place on Sunday evening. This is the 5th time that Brazil has won the tournament on home soil and they continue the record of having won every Copa America that they have hosted, a remarkable feat.
Everton Soares opened the scoring for Brazil in the 15th minute after converting a cross from the right flank delivered by Gabriel Jesus who gave Brazil the lead just a few minutes after Peru equalized from the penalty spot.
He nearly turned villain though, when he was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence in the 70th minute and proceeded to kick a water bottle and push the VAR monitor on his way out of the pitch. Matters were tense till the 90th minute, when Richarlison converted a penalty for Brazil to secure their first major title in 12 years.
One should not forget the fortuitous journey of Peru to the final as well. Even though they were thoroughly beaten 5-0 by Brazil in the Group Stages, they managed to make it to the Final by only scoring from open play in 2 of their 5 matches before the Final. One of the matches in which they scored was a 3-0 defeat of Chile in the semi-final, a result nobody could have foreseen after considering how well Chile had been playing leading up to that game.
Over in the third and fourth round placing match, despite surely being disappointed that they missed out on the Final, both Argentina put up a fiery display to try and end the tournament on a high but Argentina came out on top 2-1 despite losing their star player and captain in the 37th minute.
Argentina had further referee trouble this game following their loss to Brazil after Lionel Messi and Gary Medel were given straight reds for what was arguably a questionable refereeing decision when they got into a slight scuffle. Everyone was perplexed when even Messi was given a red since it appeared that it was mostly Medel causing the issue.
This came after Sergio Aguero and Paulo Dybala had scored to put Argentina up by 2 goals. With both teams being down to 10 men, the game seemed balanced till Chile converted a penalty after another controversial decision.
A penalty was awarded even though the foul was on the edge of the box. With the referee having had the time and a VAR check to confirm his decision, the dismay and anger from the Argentinians seemed legitimate. This comes after Argentina and Messi publicly questioned the refereeing decisions after their 2-0 loss to Brazil, with 2 possible penalty claims not even referred to VAR. Messi and Co can be relieved that they still wound up on top, clinching 3rd place in the tournament.
Other American powerhouses Colombia and Uruguay, who had won their respective groups, exited the tournament at the Quarter final stage, losing on penalties after proceedings ended 0-0 at the hands of Chile and Peru respectively.
The 2 non-American invitees for this edition of the Copa America, Japan and Qatar, exited the tournament at the Group Stage in line with history as no invited team outside the continent of America has ever made it past the Group Stage.
Japan came close this time around, finishing 3rd in Group C with 2 points after impressive draws against Uruguay and Ecuador. They finished level on points with Paraguay who wound up in 3rd place of Group B but were unable to make it in the Quarter Finals due to an inferior goal difference.