Manchester City at the Copa América: Part 3

Matchday 3 in the 2019 Copa América saw Brazil and Argentina advance to the competition’s knockout stages.

In Group A, Brazil took on Peru. Gabriel Jesus started the match and Ederson sat on the bench, but Fernandinho picked up a knee injury and did not feature. The severity of Fernandinho’s injury is unknown.

The Brazilians started brilliantly and were quickly rewarded for their hard work. The Seleção scored inside 12 minutes, and by half-time they were ahead 3-0. The Brazilians then scored two more goals in the second half, and Manchester City striker Gabriel won a stoppage time penalty but saw his effort saved. The match ended in a 5-0 victory for Brazil, and the result saw them win the group. The Seleção will now advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face either Paraguay or Japan.

Meanwhile, Argentina faced Qatar in Group B. The Argentines started the competition poorly, having earned one point from a possible four, and needed to defeat Qatar to progress to the competition’s knockout stages. Anything short of a victory would see them eliminated from the competition. Sergio Agüero and Nicolás Otamendi started the match.

The Argentines scored after the opening four minutes, but knew they needed a crucial second goal to secure their qualification. Despite a nervy match, Agüero eventually scored Argentina’s second goal late in the second half and the game ended 2-0 in Argentina’s favour. Whilst it was not their strongest performance, the White and Sky-Blues also advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face Venezuela.

Should Brazil and Argentina win their respective quarter-final matches, the two sides would then face one another in the semi-finals.