Peru and Bolivia, two of the surprises from the group phase, will clash today in an unexpected quarterfinal match at the 2015 Copa America in Temuco, Chile, in a common endeavor to continue breaking the mold.
Qualifying for the next stage is a historic event for Bolivia, because its team has not made it to such an instance since the Copa America it hosted in 1997, where it finished as runner-up.
On the other hand, reaching the quarterfinals is seen as a mission accomplished for Ricardo Gareca’s side and their performance is parallel to what was done in 2011, when they ended in third place in Argentina.
Bolivians and Peruvians qualified for the last eight as runners-up from their respective pools, A and C, and it was difficult to imagine that Bolivia would be able to cause problems for Mexico, Ecuador and Chile, and the Incan side would do likewise with Brazil and Colombia, considering they all were FIFA 2014 World Cup teams.
The Bolivian side has shown two looks in the tournament: against Mexico, with a very flat game (0-0), Ecuador, with a convincing proposal in a game that saw very good handling of the ball (3-2 victory). However, the team stumbled towards the end of the group stage with a 5-0 loss against Chile, which siphoned their momentum.
"It's a very even competition, we do not have to underestimate anyone, though Bolivia may have been underestimated by others, but we have shown we are trying to even things up," Bolivian central defender and captain Ronald Raldes said.
Peru, meanwhile, won their debut against Venezuela (1-0); ended in a draw against Colombia (0-0) and suffered a defeat against Brazil (2-1) in the extended period.
Bolivia's coach Mauricio Soria will employ his best eleven, with Marcelo Martins and Ricardo Pedriel in the attack, and Damian Lizio.
Gareca on the other hand will send out Jefferson Farfan, along with striker Paolo Guerrero, top scorer in Argentina 2011.
The match is scheduled at the Germán Becker stadium in Temuco (679 km south of Santiago), starting at 20:30 local (23h30 GMT), and will be led by Colombian referee Wilmar Roldan.
Probable Line-ups:
Peru: Pedro Gallese - Luis Advincula, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Ascues, Juan Vargas - Christian Cueva, Yoshimar Yotún, Edwin Retamoso, Joel Sanchez - Jefferson Farfan and Claudio Pizarro. Coach: Ricardo Gareca.
Bolivia: Rómel Quinonez - Miguel Hurtado, Ronald Raldes, Edward Zenteno, Leonel Morales - Alejandro Chumacero, Danny Bejarano, Martin Smedberg - Damian Lizio - Ricardo Pedriel and Marcelo Martins. Coach: Mauricio Soria.
(END) AFP/FBV/RMB
Published: 6/25/2015