Peru clinched 3rd spot in the Copa America on Saturday night as they thrashed Venezuela 4-1 in the 3rd place play-off at La Plata. The star of the show was Paolo Guerrero as he grabbed a 2nd half hat-trick and setup the other goal to round off a great personal performance. William Chiroque opened the scoring in the 41st minute and Venezuela's task got harder as Tomas Rincon was sent-off early in the 2nd half. Peru made full use of the personnel advantage as they eased through the rest of the match. Venezuela did pull a goal back through Juan Arango, but it was scant consolation for the side which ended the Copa America 2011 in 4th place.

Both sides came into the match on the back of losses, as Peru lost 2-0 to Uruguay while Venezuela lost out to Paraguay on penalties. It was the team in White & Red that made the better start as they created a couple of half chances in the 1st half. Paulo Cruzado was in the thick of things for Peru as he fired a shot straight at keeper Renny Vega, who had earlier made regulation saves to deny Christian Ramos and Carlos Lobaton.

Paraguay incredibly made the finals of the Copa America on Thursday, beating underdogs Venezuela 5-3 on penalties after nothing could seperate the two sides over 120 minutes of frankly sub-standard football. If anything, Venezuela deserved to win it more, as they were denied by the woodwork on three occasions, but eventually lost out after Franklin Lucena's penalty was kept out by Paraguay number one Justo Villar. Venezuela were worthy competitors, and for most of the game looked the better side, but their opponents' added experience during the penalty shootout was enough to take them though to Buenos Aires where they will face Uruguay in Sunday's showpiece. Paraguay's victory from the 12-yard spot also meant that they still hadn't won a game in regular time in the competition yet, an amazing statistic for a team making the final of a major tournament.

Despite having shown a lack of cutting edge throughout the competition and not having not won a single match in regular time in the competition, Paraguay were going into the game with a lot of confidence, having disposed of current Copa America champions Brazil in the quarter-finals, and started their semifinal clash as massive favourites.

Uruguay strolled past the thus-far battling team of the tournament, Peru, to book their place in the Copa America Final on Sunday. A second half brace from Luis Suarez propelled them to a win and they now have the chance to eclipse Argentina as the Tournament's undisputed record holders, being currently tied with the Argentinians on 14 crowns as CONMEBOL's finest.

The teams had shared a 1-1 draw at the Group Stage of the competition, however, Uruguay started the semi-final in typically boisterous fashion, controlling the tempo of the match, outlining their attacking intent and forcing Peru onto the back foot for much of the opening period. In the early running, the front pairing of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez piled the pressure onto the Peruvians before Alvaro Pereira had a goal ruled out for offside. Goalkeeper Raul Fernandez had to be on his toes to intervene often as Peru somehow managed to head into half-time on level terms. Uruguay could have been in the ascendency by the end of the first half, but for Suarez blazing over from a Diego Lugano prod-on courtesy a Diego Forlan free kick. Perreira then shinned an awesome chance straight at Fernandez from close range. Peru posed just the solitary threat in the first period as much against the run of play, Fiorentina winger Juan Manuel Vargas' cross went just out of reach of the front men.

Two rocking upsets changed the entire fabric of the Copa America, perhaps even the world footballing scenario, as Paraguay progressed on account of defending champions Brazil - falling prey to the same penalty horrors that saw the elimination of fellow favourites Argentina, while Venezuela dumped out the much-favoured Chileans, to claim what would be their first ever appearance at the Semi Final stage of the Conmebol competition.

The old debate of whether penalties should be a decisive factor is sure to be raised after an eventual winner is crowned, but it is no doubt that most footballing cultures view the art of taking a successful penalty, under pressure, as a measure of footballing skill and sangfroid. Brazil lacked exactly that as they lost in the fateful shootout 2-0 without being able to convert a single penalty.