Copa América Delivers Shocking Eliminations

By Michael Lopez

Forget CARmageddon, if you want a true sign of the apocalypse, just look at the latest results from the Copa América competition! In what can only be described as dumbfounding, fútbol faves Brazil, Argentina, and Chile were all defeated over the weekend.

Brazil has won an astounding eight Copa América titles thus far and has a killer squad of strikers. So what went wrong when they took on Paraguay? Most sports writers blame the loss on head coach Mano Menezes, calling out his positioning of the team's midfielders as the weakest link. Whatever the reason, Paraguay clinched the victory, mostly because Brazil missed all four of its penalty shots.

Argentina didn't fare much better against Uruguay on Saturday, losing in a 5-4 penalty shootout. Like Brazil, the Argentine team has a legendary Copa América reputation. They have won the cup a total of 14 times and have nearly always placed in the top four rankings.

Argentina's performance against Uruguay proved to be utterly disappointing for the fans. But sadly, it was that much of a surprise. The team had struggled in its last two matches with Colombia and Bolivia, barely coming out with a draw on both counts. Many fans blamed forward Lionel Messi for the loss, but truth be told, the entire team wasn't quite gelling on the field.

Now as for Chile, they got into some hot and heavy field work with Venezuela on Sunday. Going into overtime, the Venezulan underdogs scored a 2-1 victory, making this their first official visit to the Copa América semi-finals. 27-year-old defender Gabriel Chichero got a lot of credit for the team's win, particularly since he kicked in the final goal.

But before you can take a breath for air, keep in mind that two more dramatic matches are set to go down within the next three days. Peru will battle Uruguay on July 19 and Paraguay takes on Venezuela July 20!

Who are you rooting for in the Copa América semi finals? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Copa América, futbol, Gabriel Chichero, Hot Stuff, Lionel Messi, Mano Menezes, Sports