Both teams had upset the odds to come this far, so it was a pleasant clash to decide who got the bronze medals. Although this time the underdogs wouldn't come out on top.
Once again, Paraguay get a repeat of their group stages. First time out against Brazil, they had had the better of the game; in the quarter final, they had lucked out to get through on penalties. First time out against Venezuela, they had been frustrated by their opponents, getting ahead through set-pieces then conceding late on from one themselves; this time, they improved on their initial performance, but still had to wait for panlties.
Venezuela woke up in the semi-finals of the Copa America for the first time in their history this morning after a frantic second half in San Juan saw them conquer the fancied Chileans of Claudio Borghi.
With usual whipping boys Venezuela already through, the game looked fairly well set up for Paraguay to get an easy win to guarantee their progress to the quarter-finals - one needed with a wounded Brazil desperate for a win later against Ecuador. A goal from Salomon Rondon four minutes in suggested we probably shouldn't make assumptions.
After two rounds of games, Venezuela go top of Group B following a 1-0 defeat of Ecuador in an entertaining game in Salta.
Brazil began their Copa America campaign in much the same way as Argentina did two nights previous tonight with early promise fading into an insipid performance against lesser opposition.
