To watch the 2019 Copa America, sign up for ESPN+.

Alejandro Moreno says Argentina once again played flat, and a more fundamentally sound Venezuelan team could have taken advantage.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – When Lionel Scaloni looks at his glass, he can wonder all he likes about whether it’s half-full or half-empty — and make an excellent case for both. What he’ll have to concede though is that whatever liquid is in it looks about as appealing as a brown cocktail, which is what you get when you play bartender without Mister Boston and with the wrong mix of top-shelf liquor and off-brand plastic bottle swill.
Brazil are up next for Argentina after the 2-0 win over Venezuela…

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The ESPN FC crew look ahead to Argentina’s matchup with Venezuela and question if Messi and company can leave their group stage struggles behind them.

Check out the best goals so far at the 2019 Copa America. Watch the knockout rounds live and on-demand by signing up for ESPN+.

We are down to the final eight teams in the Copa America. Guest nations Japan and Qatar have gone home but we’re left with the giants of South American football like Argentina, Uruguay and hosts Brazil, as well as unfancied teams like Venezuela and Paraguay.

Here is the lowdown on each of the four quarterfinal clashes (all live on ESPN+).

Jump to: Brazil vs. Paraguay | Argentina vs. Venezuela | Colombia vs. Chile | Uruguay vs. Peru

Brazil vs. Paraguay

WHERE: Gremio Arena, Porto Alegre
WHEN:…

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All Argentina have to do is beat Qatar and they are on to the quarterfinals of the Copa America. Given their performances over the first two games, is victory a sure thing?
It’s that time again. Do or die. In or out. Dust off the old cliche about how, from here on out, it’s a direct elimination tournament and every game is a final. Because for Argentina it’s now a reality. If Lionel Messi and Co. fail to beat Qatar on Sunday night their Copa America is over with a whimper.

The trophyless drought will extend to 26 years, all the way back to 1993, when Gabriel Batistuta, Fernando Redondo and Diego Simeone led the Albiceleste to the Copa America in Ecuador. It’s by…

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In an age of metrics and audience engagement, some see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the lowest of low-hanging fruit. They are box office talents because they generally turn the incredible into routine. Most of us understand and appreciate them. Perhaps not equally, but with a massive underlying respect for what they do in the football-sphere, and they rightly generate more conversation than just about anybody in sport.

But there’s a part of that conversation that is dark, vicious and…

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Sometimes things take a 180-degree turn. Up becomes down. White is now black. Thor turns out to be Loki. Your certainties end up being replaced by what you thought was heresy.

Welcome to the Maurizio Sarri experience at Chelsea, which officially came to an end on Sunday. It’s hard to tell what would have seemed more absurd this time a year ago: that Sarri would leave Chelsea to join Juventus, or that his biggest shortcoming at Stamford Bridge would be playing a style of football that pundits…

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Rocco Commisso believes in the resurgence of Serie A and as the new owner of Fiorentina, he’s ready to dive in.

Rocco Commisso was twelve years old when he emigrated from his native Calabria, locating in the toe of the Italian boot, to New York City. His quickly became an immigrant success story: Academic excellence in Catholic high school, a full academic scholarship to Columbia University and then a blazing career in finance and telecommunications which saw him become a billionaire several times over.

He has long been passionate about soccer — he was an all-American in college and Columbia’s stadium…

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Andrea Agnelli, president of the ECA and chairman of Juventus, is hoping to get his way over time regarding big reforms and guarantees for big clubs in European competitions.

SAINT JULIAN, MALTA — The European Clubs Association (ECA) met in Malta over two days to discuss what is bound to be one of the most impactful topics of the next few years: reform of European competitions. It’s going to be a long process, involving the ECA, the leagues, the federations and, of course, UEFA who ultimately get to decide.

Here’s a Q&A to assess where we are.

Q: Wait … reform? It’s that souped up crazy pro/rel Champions’ League proposal that you wrote about and didn’t like,…

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Infantino will continue as FIFA president after running unopposed in 2019 but he’s got a long list of things to address over the next four years.

PARIS, France — Gianni Infantino will serve another term as president after being re-elected by acclamation at the FIFA Congress in Paris on Wednesday. He addressed a number of topics, from women’s football to FIFA finances to the revamped Club World Cup in 2021, both in front of the 211 nations present and in a press conference afterwards.

Here’s a Q&A to make sense of it all.

Q: Wait… he was elected “by acclamation?” What does that mean? Folks just clapped and he got re-elected?

A: Pretty…

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MADRID — The only thing left to settle for the European club season before the summer is the Champions League, and much like the Europa League final, it’s an all-English affair in Madrid as Liverpool take on Tottenham. Who will begin their holidays with a trophy and who will spend the offseason wondering what could have been?
Here is what you need to know ahead of Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. BST) and is set to be played in hot temperatures.
– Reddy: Alexander-Arnold’s…

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The only thing left to settle in the 2018-19 club season are the European honors and it begins on Wednesday as Arsenal take on Chelsea for the Europa League title. Gab Marcotti gets you prepared with what you need to know ahead of the game.
BACKSTORY: These two clubs are less than 10 miles apart — roughly 40 minutes by London Underground — but they’ve had to travel nearly 3,000 miles to face off in Baku, Azerbaijan, where they’ll contest the Europa League final. Perhaps unsurprisingly, neither…

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