Following an impressive win over Chile, Peru got themselves into the finals of Copa America, where they will go head-to-head against the 8 times Copa America winners and hosts of 2019 Copa America, Brazil. The match will take place on July 7th at Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
Read more: Copa America 2019 – All You Need to Know
Brazil
Looking back at Brazil’s road to the finals, they seemingly had an easy time, as there was no team that could match their quality. Their Copa America journey started off in Group A, where Brazil got paired with Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia. After the 3 group matches, Brazil walked away unharmed with a perfect 3-0-0 score and with no goals conceded. Following their impressive run in the group stage, Brazil entered the quarter-finals. There they met with two times Copa America winners, Paraguay, who just barely got themselves through into the playoffs. Despite being considered a heavy favourite and playing against 10 men since the 58th minute, Brazil failed to win the match in regular time. The match did eventually end in Brazil’s favour, who won after penalties. It was a rather disappointing win for the hosts, but a win nonetheless. Determined to prove themselves, Brazil had a tough task ahead of them, as they faced off against Argentina, who were hungry for a Copa America title, which has been avoiding them ever since 1993. However, as it soon became clear, Argentina will have to try their luck next year, as they found themselves 1 goal behind only 19 minutes into the match. Failing to use their chances to full potential, Argentina went down by one more goal in the 71st minute, which was more than enough to seal the deal and send the Brazilian team into the finals.
Peru
Unlike Brazil, whose road to the finals seemed like a walk in the park, Peru struggled to perform in the group stage, where they finished 3rd with a 1-1-1 record. While that on its own is bad enough, Peru ended their group stage with a 0:5 defeat against Brazil. However, the format of the competition gave Peru a second chance to prove their worth as they managed to qualify for the playoffs as the best 3rd placed team. Following their group stage matches, Peru met with the 15-times Copa America champions, Uruguay, who had to admit defeat to Peru after penalties. After Defeating one of the strongest teams in the tournament, Peru managed to use the momentum to crush Chile in semi-finals (3:0), which earned them a spot in the finals, hoping they can lift the trophy for the first time in 40 years.
Copa America 2019: What to expect?
Comparing the two finalists, Brazil are clearly the stronger side. With star-filled roster and a 13-5-2 record against Peru in the last 20 matches, there is little that works in favour of the Incas. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Brazil completely crushed Peru in the group stage (5:0) in what can only be described as the best performance from Brazil and the worst performance from Peru in the tournament. Not only have Peru put up a disastrous performance the last time these two sides met, but Peru will also have an extremely hard time stopping Brazil, who are enjoying one of their best performances in recent years and are clearly determined to win Copa America for the 9th time in history.
Sports journalist, content writer and passionate football lover.
