3️⃣ things we learned as Colombia cruise and Brazil limp to the finish .

The Copa América group stage is finally done, and the elimination rounds can begin. But first, we need to analyze what happened on the final night of action.

Here are the important takeaways.

Colombia will be a tough opponent.

Colombia seemed to have everything going for them at the moment. The team's strikers are scoring goals, the midfield is dominating, and the backline has come together following Jhon Lucumí's injury in the first game.

Add in a partisan throng practically everywhere they go in the country, and you've got a fearsome Copa América juggernaut.

Colombia maintain their unbeaten streak to finish first in the group 🙂‍↔️🇨🇴

With Panama the only team standing in their way of a second consecutive semi-final appearance, Los Cafeteros should be sure that they will play a significant role in where the trophy ends up later this month.

The only bad news for Néstor Lorenzo and his team is that they will be without Jefferson Lerma for the Panama match due to yellow card accumulation, but they should have more than enough to compensate for the Crystal Palace man's absence.

Through but hurting

Despite the fact that qualification to the quarter-finals is complete, Brazil continues to captivate observers.

The Group D runners-up appeared to have regained their spark after thrashing Paraguay on matchday two, but they reverted to their stale form against Colombia on Tuesday evening.

While they performed several beautiful movements, as one would expect from a talented Brazilian team, those moves were usually blunt in the end, prompting some major names to complain on social media.

As previously stated, they are through, and that is all that matters. However, coming second might spell disaster for Brazil, as they will face a confident Uruguay team after securing nine points in Group C.

To make matters worse, Brazil will be missing Vinicius Junior for that match due to yellow card accumulation.

Finishing on a high

Costa Rica can leave Copa América with their heads held high. After a surprise stalemate with Brazil to start the season, Los Ticos finished with a stunning 2-1 victory over Paraguay, finishing only one point behind Vinicius Junior and his teammates.

For years, Costa Rica had been determined to discover the ideal means to move from the Bryan Ruiz, Celso Borges, and Keylor Navas eras, but the task had always been enormous.

But they shown at this tournament that with the right combination of emerging talent and seasoned veterans, you can still achieve relative success when the odds are stacked against you.

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