Copa America 2021: Ranking the 5 best players from the quarterfinals
Copa America 2021 is heating up and we're now down to the final four. Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina have all booked a berth in the semi-final and it promises to be two delectable encounters.
The quarter-finals featured quite a few aggressive battles with as many as four red cards shown in four games. It was easy to see how much it meant to the teams.
Three tightly contested affairs in Copa America 2021 quarter-finals
While Peru got the better of Paraguay in a penalty shootout after the match ended 3-3, Brazil won 1-0 against Chile despite being reduced to 10-men in the 48th minute.
Colombia got past Uruguay on penalties after both teams failed to score in 120 minutes. Argentina thumped Ecuador, who were also reduced to 10-men by a 3-0 scoreline.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best players from the quarterfinals of the Copa America 2021.
#5 David Ospina (Colombia)
Uruguay squared off against Colombia in perhaps the most high-profile encounter of the Copa America 2021 quarter-finals. The two sides played out a tightly contested game and it took penalties to decide a winner.
At the end of the day, it was Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina who emerged as a hero. The former Arsenal goalkeeper saved Jose Maria Gimenez and Matias Vina's penalties to help Colombia win 4-2 in the shootout.
Ospina went the right way for Cavani's opening spotkick but the Manchester United striker's shot was slotted right into the corner and there was no stopping it. He then pulled off a spectacular save off Gimenez's attempt by diving to his right and parrying the ball away.
Ospina then sprang to his left to keep out Matias Vina's shot to send Colombia into the Copa America 2021 semi-finals where they will take on Argentina.
#4 Gianluca Lapadula (Peru)
Peru and Paraguay played out what was the most exciting matchup of the quarter-final stage. Both teams went shoulder to shoulder and settled for a 3-3 draw in 120 minutes to force a penalty shootout.
It was Paraguay who took the lead through Gustavo Gomez in the 11th minute of the game. But Gianluca Lapadula scored two goals to put Peru ahead. His first was a lovely finish from Andre Carrillo's low cross from the right flank.
His second was even more impressive. Lapadula peeled off the last defender to find space inside the box and he carved a neat left-footed finish past goalkeeper Antony Silva.
There was a lot of drama between Lapadula's goal and the final whistle. Paraguay were reduced to 10-men in first-half stoppage time as Gustavo Gomez was sent off after picking up his second yellow card of the game..
But they came out strong in the second half and took the game to Peru. Parity was restored in the 90th minute of the game and Peru had also been reduced to 10-men by then after Carrillo got sent off in the 85th minute. Lapadula had not scored for Peru before the start of the Copa America 2021 but he has now got three to his name.