Ecuador knocked Mexico out of the Copa America with a 0-0 draw and reached the quarter-finals themselves against Argentina. The group winners were Venezuela, who continue to play big
The Copa America is already over for Mexico. The reigning Gold Cup winners missed out on a place in the quarter-finals with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on Monday night (CEST) and finished third in Group B with four points – while Ecuador will play defending champions Argentina in the semi-finals.
As expected, a hard-fought duel with few chances developed at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale/Arizona, in which the Mexicans, who needed a win due to their inferior goal difference compared to Ecuador, only increasingly increased the risk after the break. But Piero Hincapie, William Pacho & Co. conceded little and also survived a late drama in stoppage time.
After substitute Guillermo Martinez was brought down in a tackle with Felix Torres in the penalty area, referee Mario Escobar initially awarded Mexico a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time, but this was rightly corrected by VAR: Torres had clearly played the ball.
Venezuela without a point in the quarter-finals – Bielsa misses Uruguay against USA
In the parallel match, Venezuela secured group victory, for which Mexico’s 0-0 draw alone would have been enough. Vinotinto, who are fourth in the South American qualifying table and have a realistic chance of making their first appearance at the World Cup, also won their third Copa game for the first time in their history with a commanding 3-0 win over Jamaica, who have no points. Eduard Bello (49), Salomon Rondon (56) and joker Eric Ramirez (85) scored in Austin/Texas. Venezuela will face Canada in the quarter-finals
Uruguay, meanwhile, will have to do without coach Marcelo Bielsa in their final group game. “El Loco” was suspended – not the first coach at this tournament – for allegedly delaying the restart after the break in the 5-0 win over Bolivia. After two wins and with a goal difference of +7, Uruguay’s quarter-final ticket and group win are now only mathematically in their grasp ahead of their clash against hosts USA (Tuesday, 3:00 CEST).
