Copa América: Ex-Monaco Star Shines; Brazil-Costa Rica Draw

Colombia 2-1 Paraguay

Former AS Monaco standout James Rodríguez was the star of the match for Colombia as they secured all three points over Paraguay. In the first goal for Los Cafeteros, it was Rodríguez who provided the assist on the goal from Crystal Palace's Daniel Muñoz in the 32nd minute.

The 32-year-old then provided another assist 10 minutes later as Jefferson Lerma scored in the 42nd minute for a 2-0 lead heading into halftime. Paraguay wouldn't go down without a fight as Brighton & Hove Albion's Julio Enciso scored in the 69th minute. Paraguay's comeback would fall short as they couldn't find the equalizing goal.

Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica

The surprise result of Matchday 1 in the Copa América was between Brazil and Costa Rica. Paris Saint-Germain's Marquinhos was in the starting 11 for the Brazilian side along with former Olympique Lyonnais players Bruno Guimarães and Lucas Paquetá.

During the 90 minutes, the Seleção registered 19 shots, and Marquinhos did score in the first half, but after a VAR review, the goal was ruled offside. Brazil would struggle to find the back of the net as Gustavo Alfaro and his team defended perfectly to secure the clean sheet and a valuable one-point start to the tournament.

Brazil will look for a bounce-back performance against Paraguay when the two teams meet on Friday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. As for the other two teams in the group, Colombia will face Costa Rica at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona.

Photo credit: @copaamerica_ENG

READ MORE:

>>Copa América: Balogun Scores and Murillo Shines in loss

>>Copa América Recap: Venezuela and Mexico Take Three Points