Paraguay's Lucas Barrios (8) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Uruguay during the first round of Copa America 2015. (Photo : Reuters)
Paraguay and Peru were the second and third placers in the previous edition of Copa America in 2011. Both teams have shown consistency as they still managed to reach the final four, only this time they are going to battle each other for the third spot.
Peru lost to host nation Chile, 1-2, during their semifinal encounter, via Yahoo Sports. The breaks simply did not go along Ricardo Gareca's men as they fought La Roja with one man down when defender Carlos Zambrano was sent off with a red card after inadvertently booting the back of midfielder Charles Aránguiz. The Peruvians were then unable to come back from that disadvantage.
Meanwhile, Paraguay was simply in the right place at the wrong time as they fell victim to the highly-anticipated Argentine steamroller, 1-6, as per The Guardian. It was just La Albiceleste's time to come alive and Ramón Díaz's squad was unfortunately in the way.
Peru and Paraguay lost to the best teams in the tournament and they are also truly deserving of their spots in the final four. This third place matchup can be as exciting as the final as both teams try to end their Copa stint on a winning note.
The predicted result is a close 1-0 win by Paraguay win over Peru. La Albirroja had been through tougher opponents and they will use those experiences to prevail over La Blanquirroja.
Peru starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Gallese; Ascues, Vargas, Ramos, Advincula; Ballón, Lobatón, Carrillo, Cueva; Guerrero, Farfán
Paraguay starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Villar; Aguilar, B. Valdez, da Silva, Piris; González, Cáceres, Ortiz, Benítez; Valdez, Barrios
