Colombia's Pablo Armero sails over Peru's Luis Advincula as Peru's goalie Pedro Gallese fails to hold the ball during a scoring attempt in their first round Copa America 2015 match in Temuco, Chile, Sunday. — Reuters SANTIAGO — Brazil shrugged off the absence of suspended captain Neymar to reach the Copa America quarterfinals here Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Venezuela.
Goals in each half from Paris Saint-Germain star Thiago Silva and Bundesliga-based striker Roberto Firmino clinched a win which ensured Brazil qualified for the last eight on top of Group C.
Venezuela's goal came from Rayo Vallecano striker Nicolas Fedor in the 84th minute.
Silva — who earlier celebrated finding the net with a dedication to Neymar — praised Brazil's team effort.
“The best thing today is we had a very cohesive team,” he said. “Football is played this way — as a team.”
Brazil will now face Group B runner-up Paraguay in the quarterfinals Saturday.
“It's going to be a tough match,” said Silva of the 2011 finalist, which knocked Brazil out four years ago.
Brazil had suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Colombia in its last outing, a contest which ended with a post-match brawl that led to Neymar receiving a tournament-ending four-match ban.
Defeat to Venezuela Sunday would have seen the five-time world champion making a humiliating first-round exit from the South American showpiece but that outcome never looked likely as Brazil dominated the start.
Brazil coach Dunga had opted to replace Neymar — looking down from the stands at Santiago's Estadio Monumental — with Santos striker Robinho while the captain's armband was passed to defender Miranda.
The breakthrough came after only nine minutes. Robinho flighted a corner from the right into the heart of the penalty area and Silva was on hand to sidefoot a sweetly struck volley past goalkeeper Alain Baroja, who failed to react in time as the ball flew into the roof of the net.
Brazil started the second half as it finished the first, laying siege to the Venezuelan goal.
Brazil did not have long to wait for its second, however, which arrived on 52 minutes. Willian skipped away from Rosales with ease down the left flank before crossing to Firmino who sidefooted home from close range for 2-0.
Brazil looked to be heading to an easy victory but Venezuela ensured a tense finale with Fedor's late goal. Juan Arango's free-kick was tipped onto the post by Jefferson but Fedor was on hand to head in the rebound.
Venezuela mounted a late rally for an equalizer but was unable to find the goal that would have seen it squeeze through to the quarterfinals at the expense of Colombia.
Colombia, which reached the last eight as one of the two best third placed teams, now faces Argentina in the quarterfinals Friday.
Peru had held Colombia to a 0-0 draw earlier Sunday to also secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
All four teams arrived in the final round tied with three points each in Group C, but Colombia was in last place on tiebreakers.
The top two teams in each of the three groups advance, in addition to the two best third-place finisher.
The draw between Peru and Colombia eliminated Ecuador, which was the third-place team in Group A with three points and still had hopes of advancing. — Agencies
