When a team can reach the finals of a tournament without winning a game, there’s a problem. And that’s exactly what Paraguay did last night with its shootout victory over Venezuela. There were a grand total of zero goals in the game but there was a huge brawl afterward that turned the game from bad to embarrassing. Really? It’s the semifinals of a major tournament, no one score and the game turns into a battle after the PKs.

This was Paraguay’s second tie against Venezuela in this Copa America with the first coming in the group stage but at least that one ended 3-3. They also tied Brazil twice, 2-2 in the group stage and 0-0 in the quarterfinals where they advanced on penalties.

All in all, there have been 13 games that haven’t ended in a draw or penalty kicks. That’s out of 24 games so far. Nearly have the games have ended up as a draw, including two quarterfinal matches and one of the semifinals (and they went to PKs). Paraguay could actually win this tournament by scoring five total goals and not winning a game!

The top two teams, Brazil and Argentina, failed to advance past the quarterfinals and won just two games combined. During the whole tournament, there have been just 46 goals (less than two a game). And if you take away July 13 when there were 12 goals in two matches, that leaves 34 goals in 22 games. Continue reading “Copa America Has Been A Huge Disappointment” →