Greatness is not measured out in 90-minute intervals. Brazil's national soccer team found that out the hard way during the Group Stage of the Copa America Centenario; they were the second favorites going into this tournament at +450, but they didn't even make it to the Knockout Stage. Peru beat them 1-0 this past Sunday, cashing in as +750 underdogs after Raul Ruidiaz scored the winner.

The other big upset saw Uruguay fail to make it out of Group C. They lost 1-0 to Venezuela last week, despite going into the match as –155 favorites. Uruguay didn't have much to offer without the injured Luis Suarez up front. Otherwise, the usual suspects made it through to the Knockout Stage:

Group A: United States, Colombia
Group B: Peru, Ecuador
Group C: Mexico, Venezuela
Group D: Argentina, Chile
 

Close Quarters

This sets up a very interesting quarter-finals, with the USMNT up first against Ecuador on Thursday. Here's the full schedule:

Thursday

9:30 PM ET

United States vs Ecuador

CenturyLink Field

Seattle

Friday

8 PM ET

Peru vs Colombia

MetLife Stadium

East Rutherford

Saturday

7 PM ET

Argentina vs Venezuela

Gillette Stadium

Foxborough

Saturday

10 PM ET

Mexico vs Chile

Levi's Stadium

Santa Clara

Colombia and Argentina benefit greatly from the results of the Group Stage; the Cafeteros are –175 favorites at press time to beat Peru, while La Albiceleste are massive –385 favorites against Venezuela. It's highly unlikely Argentina will slip up on Saturday, but Colombia can't take Peru lying down. Los Incas were a value bet in Group B, and they took third place at each of the last two Copas.
 

Take Me Home

The other two matches are too close to call on paper. With the benefit of home-field advantage, and lots of betting from their home fans, Team USA are very slight +160 favorites over Ecuador (+165), with the draw after regulation paying out at just +195. La Tri advanced from Group B with a goalless draw versus Brazil, a 2-2 draw against Peru, and an easy 4-0 win over Haiti, so another draw against the USMNT could be in the cards.

The last match of the quarter-finals is nearly as tight, with Mexico favored at +150 against Chile at +175 and the draw once again pegged at +200. In this case, El Tri enjoy virtual home-field advantage in Santa Clara, and they downed Uruguay 3-1 during the Group Stage, while Chile lost 2-1 to Argentina and needed a very late penalty to beat Bolivia 2-1. The defending Copa America champions need to step it up Saturday if they're going to make it to the semis.

 


*Odds as of June 16, 2016