Copa América Group B continues to heat up, with Venezuela claiming their second victory and Ecuador taking their first three points of the tournament.
Here’s what we thought of the events in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
The referees are the real stars
Both Group B games were full of drama, but unfortunately most of it was produced by the men on the whistle.
In the opening game of the evening, Jamaica felt aggrieved when they were not awarded a penalty for what they believed to be a handball similar to the one that saw Ecuador awarded a penalty earlier in the game.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, each team was awarded a penalty after lengthy VAR reviews, although Venezuela were the only team to convert theirs of the two.
Fights broke out in both games, showing how much the referees failed to control the games, but we expect this in games involving CONMEBOL and CONCACAF.
There has been a lot to write and talk about during the first 12 games of the tournament, but let’s hope it’s the quality of the players that will shine in the coming weeks, rather than the color of the cards being brandished.
Lacks quality where it counts
Scoring was always going to be a problem for Mexico before the tournament. Santi Giménez’s club form has been intense, but the Feyenoord player is yet to translate that form to international football.
The absence of Edson Álvarez didn’t help, but Mexico still managed to fire 18 shots towards the Venezuelan goal. Some of those chances came in the final minutes, but when the ball fell to the likes of Carlos Rodríguez, Orbelín Pineda and Cesar Huerta with the game on the line rather than the previous generation’s strikers, the quality simply wasn’t there.
The pressure falls on Jaime Lozano, who was already under pressure before the tournament. A third round clash with Ecuador could be the defining moment for many of this generation’s El Tri players.
Jeremy Sarmiento is someone to watch
The Ipswich player, on loan from Brighton, quickly caught the attention of many football fans following his performance against Jamaica on Wednesday night.
You could barely take your eyes off Sarmiento whenever he had the ball at his feet, cutting through the Jamaican midfield and defense, always remaining dangerous.
The winger received raucous applause when his number appeared on the fourth official’s board to be replaced, and rightly so. Sarmiento will be someone to watch throughout the tournament if Ecuador manages to get out of Group B. And if they do, he will likely be the catalyst.
