The Copa America is now headed to the semifinals and the world has experienced a great deal of elation for major winners and yet a plethora of disappointments from those that were expected to do so much more.
Of the four remaining teams in the tournament, two of them were expected to make deep runs. The other two remaining sides were among the three worst teams in World Cup 2014 qualifiers. Those two sides, Peru and Paraguay, are where they are on their own merit but there is no doubt that they left rather disappointing sides in the dust.
Here are the biggest disappointments of the quarterfinals at the Copa America.
The soap opera that is sports always rivets for what takes place on the battle field. But often times the stories that take place far away from the pitch are just as unique and special. They make for some interesting conversation and add an element to the world of sports that moves into the social, political and economic realm.
This year featured a number of off-pitch events that continued to elevate the dynamics of soccer and add new elements that are rarely discussed. As part of our Best of 2014 feature series, writer David Salazar and Edwin Molina look at two off-pitch events that really brought the soccer conversation to a new level.
After scoring a hat-trick to break Spain's La Liga all-time scoring record against Sevilla over the weekend, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick on Wednesday against Cyrus champion APOEL FC on Tuesday to surpass Raul's all-time scorers record in UEFA Champions League history.
Uruguay turn to Edinson Cavani and Abel Hernandez as they look to make adjustments with Luis Suarez banned from playing in the 2015 Copa America tournament. Meanwhile, Chile is looking to stay unbeaten, with help from Alexis Sanchez who is having a career year, after their heartbreaking exit from the 2014 World Cup.
Lionel Messi made history when he scored his 70th and 71st career UEFA Champions League goals helping Barcelona beat Ajax Amsterdam 2-0, helping the Spanish club advance into the Round of 16. Barcelona will be joined by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Ligue 1 champs Paris Saint-Germain and Primeira Liga club Porto in the next phase of the tournament.
Forty goals were scored on Tuesday, a record for an eight-game night of UEFA Champions League's action that saw Shakhtar Donetsk' Luiz Adriano tie Lionel Messi's record for most goals in a game while Messi got closer to Raul's Champions League career record.
With Costa Rica already clinching the Group D No. 1 seed, there is only one spot remaining. Both Italy and Uruguay will play each other to see who advances to the knockout round and who stays home.
Four years ago Uruguay stunned the world with a dazzling display in the World Cup. The South American side won Group A and then went on a deep run past South Korea and Ghana before succumbing to the Netherlands in the semifinals. Despite falling to Germany in the third place match, the nation's top player Diego Forlan was given the Golden Ball as the team MVP. Now Uruguay will look to take a step further and win its first World Cup since 1950. And there are many reasons to believe that they can make it happen.
