
Brazil secured a thrilling 1-1 draw against Colombia in California on Tuesday, setting the stage for an exciting Copa América quarter-final showdown with Uruguay. With this result, Colombia topped Group D with seven points and will face Panama in the quarter-finals.
Daniel Muñoz’s first-half goal for Colombia countered an impressive early free kick by Brazil’s Raphinha. The draw extended Colombia’s unbeaten run to 26 matches, though it ended their streak of 10 consecutive wins.
“We were eager to play this match to test ourselves at this good moment for the team,” said Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo. “I believe we made progress today. You can’t let your guard down against Brazil even for a second. We are satisfied with our performance against a tough opponent.”
Brazilian defender Marquinhos admitted that the team still has room for improvement. “We need to be honest with ourselves; there’s a lot of growth and improvement needed, especially in big games,” he said.
The match between Colombia, unbeaten since March 2022, and five-time World Cup winners Brazil lived up to expectations with both teams going full throttle from the start. In the first 15 minutes at Levi’s Stadium, Vinicius Jr received a yellow card for accidentally striking James Rodriguez during a tussle, a booking that rules him out of the Uruguay match.
Rodriguez came close to scoring from the resulting free kick, hitting the crossbar. However, it was Raphinha who opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a superb free kick into the top corner.
Colombia thought they had equalized when Davinson Sanchez headed in Rodriguez’s cross, but the goal was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR review. Brazil called for a penalty in the 42nd minute when Muñoz brought down Vinicius in the box, but replays showed Muñoz got a touch on the ball.
Just before halftime, Jhon Cordoba found space and played a perfect through ball to Muñoz, who scored to level the game. Despite the intense California heat, both teams maintained their intensity in the second half, with Raphinha nearly scoring again from a free kick in the 59th minute.
Colombia had their chances too, with substitute Rafael Borre missing a close-range shot. Colombia’s goalkeeper Camilo Vargas made a crucial save to deny Brazil’s substitute Andreas Pereira’s long-range effort in stoppage time.
Costa Rica missed out on the quarter-finals after finishing third in the group with four points, despite a 2-1 win over Paraguay in their final match.
“It was a tough group, facing Brazil and Colombia, two of the top favorites,” said Costa Rica coach Gustavo Alfaro. “We showed our strengths, had our achievements and mistakes, but we focused on our performance rather than the results.”
Costa Rica needed favorable results and a significant goal difference to advance. They started strong with Francisco Calvo and Josimar Alcocer scoring within the first seven minutes. Calvo headed in a goal in the third minute, and Alcocer scored from outside the box after a solo run.
Paraguay responded in the second half, with Ramon Sosa scoring his first goal for his country. Costa Rica’s defense struggled as Mathias Villasanti set up Sosa’s goal. Paraguay nearly scored again from a corner in added time, but Angel Romero’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira.
This marked the first time since 1925 that Paraguay lost all their group matches.
“It was a disappointing tournament and performance,” said Paraguay coach Daniel Garnero.