Copa America in Brazil's controversial group stage has ended. The knockout phase sees eight of the 10 teams progress to the next stage.Brazil's hosts and the Group A winners had a disappointing 1-1 draw against Ecuador. Venezuela's exit was secured by Peru's 1-0 victory. Argentina's Group B winners, Argentina, won 4-1 over Bolivia to eliminate it. Uruguay defeated Paraguay by 1-0. This round of fixtures was canceled by Colombia and Chile.ESPN takes a look back at the action from the oldest tournament international in the world.Copa America bracket schedule and fixturesThe standout so farThere was a lack of drama in the Copa America group phase. Only two teams were eliminated. It would be absurd to think of the team that has won the tournament or the best player in the group phase. Ricardo Gareca, Peru coach, is the strong candidate to be the standout so far.Gareca founded his group in the Centenary Copa in the United States five years ago. He also consolidated a team which two years later brought Peru to the first World Cup since 1982. He led that same team to the final in the 2019 Copa. They are now in the final group phase and they are second to Brazil. However, their timid defeat to Brazil at the 4-0 stage is a clear indication of Gareca’s limited resources.In the last few years, Peru has only one truly world-class player: captain and centre forward Paolo Guerrero. He is currently recovering from a serious knee injury. Gareca was fortunate to find a replacement -- the mobile, cunning, Italian-born striker Gianluca lapadula, who, at 31 years old, has chosen to represent the country of his mother's origin.It's just as well that he is aboard. Gareca is receiving very little from Peruvian football. The eighth consecutive year and the 10th in 11 years, no Peruvian team has reached the Copa Libertadores 16th round, South America's Champions League. Some youngsters are being considered for the Copa. San Jose Earthquakes leftback Marcos Lopez played some games, while Martin Tavara, the midfielder of the San Jose Earthquakes, was on the bench. Alex Valera, a slightly older player at 25, also came off the bench. Lapadula aside though, none the new additions have made an impact on the national team. Gareca keeps sticking with the same old, same old -- and he makes it more than the sum of its parts.It is difficult for the Peru team to compete on a bad day. The 3-0 loss at home to Colombia in World Cup qualification at the beginning of the month is one example. Or the 4-0 defeat by Brazil. With a little tweaking here and lots of common sense there, the Copa Gareca team beat Colombia and drew against Ecuador -- results that were very unlikely prior to the matches or at half-time in case of Ecuador.He works hard to keep his team small -- it is difficult to play through without the ball. There are many passing options when in possession. Trust in Lapadula's skills on the counter-attack, Andre Carrillo's dynamism, and occasionally Cristian Cueva's talent. It's not much. It has been enough to allow Peru to place second in the group.What is their limit? The key question is whether they have the confidence to emerge from the competition confident. They are currently at the bottom of South America's table after they have completed a third of the Qatar 2022 qualifiers. Gareca hopes that 2021 will be like 2016, and that they can leave Copa feeling that their limited resources, well-coached, will be sufficient to take them to the World Cup.Neymar is looking great, Leo Messi has broken records, but Ricardo Gareca’s Peru displays have been the main attraction on the Copa group stage. MB Media/Getty ImagesThe great Neymar debatePele was just 31 years old when he retired as an international football player. He had done it all. Neymar will turn 31 in the next World Cup. There is still much to do.He may win his first Copa America, but he was hurt in 2019. He is aware, however, that the World Cup is the ultimate measure for Brazilians. Qatar 2022 seems to be the turning point in his international career.Coach Tite is clear that he creates his team around Neymar -- and can point out Sunday's draw against Ecuador as proof.Neymar was resting for a game many may have thought was without consequence. The Ecuadorians were trying to survive in the competition, so it was not for them. It was not the same for many Brazil players. Gabriel Barbosa and Lucas Paqueta are not guaranteed a spot in the World Cup squad. They were determined to make an impact and they did not disappoint. Without Neymar, it was just not the same.Brazil was at their best, and had won the previous Copa game against Colombia. Neymar, however, took the goal-setting corner. He has lost only one Copa match (the 2011 penalty shoot defeat to Paraguay counts as a draw according to the records). This was in 2015 when Brazil were also defeated by Colombia. Carlos Sanchez did a great job marking Neymar. He was frustrated and abused the referee at the end of that game, which resulted in a long suspension. Six years later Wilmar Barrios did the same job for Colombia and Neymar was frustrated once again. The two did not boil at this point, although it would have been fascinating to see what the consequences would be if Brazil's controversial equaliser had been excluded.It is obvious that Neymar's performance was affected by the lack of pressure. Can we place so much hope on him at the next World Cup? Can Tite manage his star to produce his best when it really matters.These will be crucial questions for the next World Cup, as the Copa group phase demonstrated.What do the sides that were eliminated take home?Venezuela's efforts to leave the stage with dignity are more than mere face-saving. Jose Peseiro, the coach, can be proud of his team's performance despite their early expulsion. Venezuela was the largest victim of the coronavirus-affected Copa.Two-pronged attack threat is the Venezuelan full strength side. The combative, forward-looking play of the muscular Salomon Rondon is a threat. There are also the quick wingers who flank him. None of these weapons were readily available.Rondon was kept in China by Quarantine restrictions. All of the wingers were eliminated by a COVID surge, which forced Venezuela to bring in new players at the very last moment. Peseiro was left with no attacking options. Peseiro quickly set up a five-man defensive system, which was manned by Wuilker Farinez. He then tried to survive on scraps. The draws against Colombia, Ecuador and Peru were admirable. However, defeats against Brazil or Peru were not a disaster in these circumstances.Bolivia was also affected by COVID. This meant that their captain Marcelo Martins Moreno, who is the country's all-time top scorer, couldn't be called upon. Coach Cesar Farias chose to field a team with a lower strength team. This was fatal in the first game against Paraguay. Carlos Lampe, the outstanding first-choice goalkeeper, was replaced by Ruben Cordano, and Jaime Cuellar, a teenager from Italy, gave the side a disappointing first half. It led to a 1-0 deficit that turned into a 3-1 defeat.It was the first of four consecutive losses. Farias can also point to the youth experience of Jairo Quinteros, centre-back, and Jeyson Chuura (left-footed support striker). Farias can also point out the results of the three World Cup qualifiers, a home win sandwiched among two away draws. This gave him an opportunity to experiment.The single goal loss to Chile was the high point. Bolivia won the second half but deserved a draw. The bottom came at the end when Lionel Messi ripped through the defense and only Lampe managed to keep the score to 4-1.
