Copa America Roundup: Brazil Finally Come Good & Venezuela Secure Second-Place in Group A

Brazil finally put on the show their fans were waiting for as they swept aside Peru 5-0 in the third and final game of their Copa America group stage to secure

Brazil finally put on the show their fans were waiting for as they swept aside Peru 5-0 in the third and final game of their Copa America group stage to secure their passage to the quarter-finals as group winners.

Roberto Firmino scored an audacious goal on the Seleção's way to thrashing the Peruvians, a result that leaves their opponents waiting to see whether their third place finish will be enough to see them qualify for the knockout stages.

O Brasil 🇧🇷 tem nove jogos consecutivos sem sofrer gols jogando em casa na #CopaAmerica; o último que recebeu foi da Venezuela 🇻🇪, no triunfo por 3-1 da seleção Canarinho em 1989 🙌. pic.twitter.com/lGUcQDTYGT

— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ (@CopaAmerica) June 22, 2019

Meanwhile, Venezuela saw off Bolivia 3-1 after Darwin Machis' brace saw them reach the next stage of the competition with a second-place finish, condemning Bolivia to three losses from their three group games.

Brazil 5-0 Peru

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Following on from their disappointing 0-0 draw with Venezuela on Tuesday, in which Tite's side were booed off the pitch by home supporters, their demolition of Peru was in stark contrast and gave the home support the kind of performance they had been yearning for.

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro got the ball rolling after bundling homeafter a goalmouth scramble ensued following Philippe Coutinho's corner in the 12th minute. 

Liverpool's Firmino then grabbed the second shortly after, with Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese having a moment to forget. His clearance ricocheted off Firmino's back and hit the post, subsequently falling to the Brazilian to dummy Gallese and produce a 'no-look' finish into the empty net.

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Everton Soares then cut in from the left hand side and struck a low drilled effort into the near post to give the Selecao a commanding 3-0 lead with just over half an hour gone. Daniel Alves continued to scoring into the second half, finishing off a sublime one-touch passing move before smashing an unstoppable effort past Gallese.

The scoring was rounded off by Chelsea winger Willian, who curled a sumptuous effort into the far corner in the final minute of normal time.

Finishing top of their group means the hosts will face one of the best third-placed countries from Group B or C in the quarter-finals as they look to lift the trophy that has evaded them since 2004.

Bolivia 1-3 Venezuela

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After securing a hard-fought 0-0 draw over the tournament favourites in the last round, Venezuela knew victory over lowly Bolivia would seal their route to the latter stages of the competition.

It didn't take long for them to make their mark on the match, as Machis headed home from a right wing cross after two minutes, despite the efforts of Carlos Lampe in the Bolivia goal. Despite losing their opening two games, Boliva fought back with purpose, coming within a whisker of drawing level after seven minutes when Paul Arano's long range effort was tipped onto the post by Wuilker Faríñez.

A cautious remainder to the half was to follow, with neither side able to carve open many chances. Just as they had in the first half, however, Venezuela grabbed an early goal in the second period after Machis' looping effort from outside the box took a slight deflection on its way into the net.

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Undeterred, Bolivia continued to press and got a deserved consolation with eight minutes remaining after some fine build-up play was finished off by Leonel Justiniano Arauz, who drilled a fine low effort into the far corner.

Just a few minutes later though, Venezuela sealed the win after some fine play down the left from Yeferson Soteldo found the winger space to cross for Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez who headed into the far corner.

The win secures Venezuela a place in the knockout stages, where they will face the winners of either Group B or C.