Peru vs. Paraguay
These are probably the best matched teams. I think Peru have the advantage, even more so, due to Paraguay’s unfortunate news.
The star player for Paraguay, Miguel Almirón, has suffered a muscle edema and has been ruled out of the quarterfinal match. This is important because he is a crucial part in Paraguay’s attacking strategy. When on offense, Almirón plays on the left wing and uses his speed to beat defenders. The strategy so far has been to get him the ball and hope he can work is way up and get in a cross for incoming teammates. Now that he is unavailable, the coach, Eduardo Berizzo, will have to devise a new strategy. If Paraguay wants to win they need to get comfortable attacking down the middle. On defense, they will need to limit opposing player Christian Cueva’s time on the ball as he has been the creator for Peru.
Peru is also playing without their star player Paolo Guerrero, but they have been without him the whole tournament, so they have found a way around that. They now rely on their lone striker Gianluca Lapadula, and midfielders Christian Cueva and André Carrillo to make up the creative difference. If Peru want to advance they need to force Paraguay to keep playing wide, as it will now be their weakness with Almirón’s absence.
Brazil vs. Chile
This will be the toughest game in the Quarterfinals. Everyone expected these teams to meet in the semi-finals or later. With Paraguay surprising everyone and finishing in second as opposed to third or fourth, Brazil will have a difficult road to the final if they do advance. Usually the first team in one group will play the fourth-place team in the other group, as a way of giving the top team a break and creating more closely fought games moving forward. Now that this is not the case, the Quarterfinals consist of more interesting matchups.
As of now, I think that Chile head into the match with an Advantage. Chile have already figured out their style of play and know how to defend against top teams. Although it is more and more unlikely, Chile may also have Alexis Sanchez back in time. Their main focus should be forcing Brazil to play a wide offensive game. Brazil finds it difficult at times to attack from the wings, and prefers to attack up the middle, as almost all of their offensive players are good dribblers.
I think Brazil needs to work on one key thing going into this matchup: figuring out a starting lineup. In their past four games, Tite (the coach) has put out a different lineup (including the goalies) each game. Although they did maintain an unbeaten record in the group stage, they started to lose their scoring edge, as their multi-goal wins in the first two games, turned into a 2-1 win and a tie in their last two games. I think their best shot is to play their usual 4-3-3 formation with Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Barbosa as the three attackers. I also think that having Casemiro as the center midfielder is important as he is Brazil’s first line of defense.
Uruguay vs. Colombia
I think this will be a close game, but Uruguay has the edge. Right now, Colombia has been playing without two of their main stars: James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao and will now have to play without a third star, Juan Cuadrado, due to suspension for picking up his second yellow card in the group stage.
Uruguay, however, will have all of its stars present and are starting to find their rhythm. For Uruguay to win, Cavani and Suarez will need to be more involved. So far they have both been acting as poachers even though they are natural creators and play well when they get the ball a bit further outside the box.
If Colombia want to win they will need to work on two things. First, they need to work on their formation. When defending, they are quick to abandon their formation and end up leaving gaps for the opposing team to fill. Second they will need to be more creative with their chances. So far they have been relying on the speed of Cuadrado to beat defenders and set up a scoring chance. Now they will need to work the ball around and get more players involved such as Duván Zapata and Yerry Mina.
Argentina vs. Ecuador
Most people would consider this an easy win for Messi and company. I think that Argentina will win but it could be a closer game than anticipated. Ecuador snuck out as the last team in the group to make it, with one loss and three ties. Argentina, on the other hand, finished at the top of their group with one tie and three wins (2/3 being by a one-goal margin).
If Argentina want to win, they have to be more creative. When Messi gets the ball in the middle, it is very hard to stop him and it gives his teammates a chance to get open on the wings. If you watch highlights of their last game against Bolivia, Messi would take on defenders in the middle and give his teammates, like Papu Gomez, a chance to get open, which led to their first goal.
If Ecuador wants to win, there are two main defensive steps they need to take. The first is to have someone follow Messi. When looking at teams that have shut out Argentina, you will notice that part of the reason is because they make sure that Messi does not have time to breathe; the moment a pass is headed his way, there is someone pressuring him. The second step is to defend higher up the field. A perfect example is to watch how Chile defends when playing against La Albiceleste. Argentina has trouble working the ball up from the defenders and is more likely to lose the ball before people like Messi or Di Maria get a chance to create something.
Photo: Copa América Trophy, from Shutterstock, taken by A.Ricardo