Uruguay 3 (Suarez 11, Forlan 41, 89)
Paraguay 0
Uruguay Muslera - M Pereira, Lugano (c), Coates, M Caceres (Godin 88) - Gonzalez, Perez (Eguren 69), Arevalo, A Pereira (Cavani 63) - Forlan, Suarez. Booked: Caceres, D Perez, M Pereira, Coates.
Paraguay Villar (c) - Piris, Veron, da Silva, Marecos - Vera (H Perez 64), Ortigoza, V Caceres (Estigarribia 64), Riveros - Zeballos (Barrios 76), Valdez. Booked: Vera, V Caceres.
Attendance 52,000 at the Estadio Monumental Referee Salvio Fagundes (Brazil)
LUIS SUAREZ and Diego Forlan both scored as Uruguay easily beat Paraguay in Buenos Aires to take an overall lead in the total number of Copa Americas.
Liverpool striker and player of the tournament Suarez opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a deflected strike but, even at that early stage, it was a deserved lead against the toothless Paraguayans.
The match was all one-way traffic with Uruguay dominating for the rest of the first half and so it came as no surprise when Oscar Tabarez's men scored their second just before the break.
This time, it was Atletico Madrid man Forlan who struck his first goal of the tournament after Paraguay had cheaply surrendered possession.
For most of the second half, Uruguay relaxed but it was rarely enough to allow Paraguay a sniff of getting back in the game.
Paraguay did hit the bar on 54 minutes when Nelson Valdez struck a spectacular volley but it was actually Uruguay who finished more strongly.
Sebastian Eguren almost scored in the 74th minute but was foiled when the tournament's best goalkeeper Justo Villar stuck out his left arm with the ball heading for the net.
But Villar was finally beaten for a third time in the last minute by Forlan. The 32-year-old equalled the national record of 31 goals held by Hector Scarone in his 82nd cap with a fine strike after collecting a pass from Suarez.
Uruguay had won and confirmed the arrival of a new golden generation after their third place in last year's World Cup finals, their best result in that tournament since 1970.
The Uruguayans now have 15 Copa America titles as compared to Argentina's 14 and Brazil's eight.
Led by an experienced coach in Tabarez, they importantly have a strong spine in their team of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, captain and centre-back Diego Lugano, and midfielders Diego Perez and Alvaro Pereira.
And then, of course, Uruguay has been blessed with Forlan and Suarez up front, perhaps the most lethal strike-force currently playing international football.
At the start, though, this was a rather odd tournament. Even eventual winners Uruguay could only take a point from their opening two matches in 1-1 draws against Peru and Chile.
Thankfully for them, Pereira scored early on in the third match against Mexico to ensure progress but only as a runner-up in Group C behind Chile.
Even then, the Chileans had only secured top spot with a last-minute goal over third-placed Peru who qualified as the best third-placed team.
Meanwhile, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Argentina laboured to consecutive opening draws in Group A against Bolivia and Colombia.
Those results for La Albiceleste allowed the Colombians to take control of the group and they duly finished top with three clean sheets after wins against Bolivia and Costa Rica who both went out.
Argentina only confirmed their progression on the final matchday although there were few nerves on display in the routine 3-0 win over the disappointing, if youthful, Costa Ricans.
It should easily have been a more handsome win with Gonzalo Higuain particularly guilty of missing a hatful of easy chances laid-on by Lionel Messi.
But, with Messi pulling the strings behind a front three of Higuain, Angelo di Maria and Sergio Aguero, the Argentines finished the group stages finally looking as if they may justify their favourites tag.
Finally, in Group B, Brazil also began with two draws though they produced contrasting performances in the 0-0 against Venezuela and the 2-2 against Paraguay.
In the first match, Brazil did everything except score against a stout and determined Venezuelan side but, against Paraguay, the Selecao had to come from behind twice.
The second equaliser from Fred came in the last minute of the match and the concession of late goals became a running theme for Paraguay who drew all three of their group games.
Paraguay's tendency to lapse late on reached new levels against Venezuela when they failed to see out the game despite going 3-1 up with five minutes left through a Cristian Riveros strike.
Instead, the impressive Vinotinto scored twice in stoppage time through Nicolas Fedor and Grenddy Perozo to salvage a 3-3 draw.
Both Venezuela and Paraguay made it through but it was Brazil, despite their earlier troubles, who finished top of the section after a fine display in beating Ecuador 4-2.
Alexandre Pato and Neymar both scored twice as the Brazilians proved too strong for Ecuador who had just about stayed in the game for the first hour thanks to two goals from Felipe Caicedo.
And so, despite the tournament threatening otherwise, the big names all made the cut. Bolivia, Ecuador and the two development squads from the invitees Costa Rica and Mexico were the teams which went home.
However, the rumbles of a shock had been present throughout the group phase and, in the Quarter Finals, the rumble erupted as all four favourites lost.
Colombia can consider themselves unlucky having hit the woodwork three times while the previously in-form Radamel Falcao also missed a second-half penalty.
The Peruvians held on until extra time then dealt a double sucker-punch with substitute Carlos Lobaton and captain Juan Manuel Vargas scoring either side of the extra time interval for a 2-0 win.
The drama that evening had only just begun as Argentina and Uruguay responded brilliantly to a raucous atmosphere for the Rio de la Plata in Santa Fe.
There were two goals in the opening 17 minutes with Perez sliding in from close range for the visitors before Higuain got the hosts back on terms with a fine strike.
And it looked to be 'advantage Argentina' when goalscorer Perez stupidly got himself sent off for two bookings just before half time.
But Sergio Batista's men toiled in the second half despite their numerical supremacy and even this advantage was removed when Argentine captain Javier Mascherano repeated Perez's error.
Nevertheless, Argentina were the better side and Uruguay keeper Muslera had to be in the form of his life to deny most notably Higuain with a brilliant reflex save.
It seemed written in the stars that Muslera would play the decisive part in the tie and that became even more apparent when the match went to penalties.
Uruguay were nerveless in the shootout, converting all five of their penalties, whereas anxious Argentina rode their luck throughout the exchange.
Javier Pastore only just managed to squeeze his penalty underneath Muslera and Higuain scored via the underside of the bar.
By then, though, Muslera was already eyeing glory after he saved substitute Carlos Tevez's weak spot-kick. The Manchester City man evident had something else on his mind...
Tevez proved to be the solitary failure once Martin Caceres confirmed Uruguay's place in the semis with the final kick.
Argentina were out of their own tournament and, unsurprisingly, manager Batista has subsequently resigned before the Argentine Football Association (AFA) had a chance to act.
In the third quarter final, Brazil took on Paraguay in a repeat of their group stage clash which Paraguay had come ever so close to winning.
This time, sadly, Paraguay reverted to their shells and only managed their first attack in the last moments of normal time and their first shot on target in the last minute of extra time.
Brazil huffed and puffed but it was to no avail as the match drifted into the extra period.
Midfielders Ramires and Lucas Leiva had seen plenty of the ball but neither produced anything of note and the latter compounded his failures by getting sent off after an on-field brawl with Antolin Alcaraz.
With Paraguay killing the game, the brawl was just about the most interesting aspect of extra time and more Copa penalties became inevitable.
In the shoot-out, Brazil gave a comical performance, missing all four of their kicks as Paraguay went through with a two-out-of-three success rate.
Defenders Thiago Silva and Andre Santos had stepped up for Brazil along with Elano and Fred while Robinho, who had played on the periphery throughout, declined to take one.
Ultimately, Brazil had failed to hold their nerve, and badly.
Just 12 months after their surprise World Cup exit to Netherlands despite holding a 1-0 half-time lead and just 36 months before they host the World Cup themselves, the signs are not looking good for home success in 2014.
Success for Venezuela in 2014 would simply mean qualification for the finals and the continent's only previous whipping boys breached another barrier in this tournament by reaching the semi finals for the first time.
Their 2-1 extra time win in the last eight came against Chile who were much-fancied after their group stage performances.
Once again, though, the underdogs came out on top having ridden their luck.
Venezuela actually started brighter and Ozwaldo Vizcarrondo gave them the lead with a header on 34 minutes.
After the break, though, the Chileans were better and pushed for a winner once Humberto Suazo had equalised with 20 minutes to go.
But the coup de grace came from Venezuela with just nine minutes left when Gabriel Cichero scored from close range to complete an extraordinary couple of days.
Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Chile had been eliminated. It was becoming ever clearer that this was Uruguay's time again.
First, though, they had to deal with Peru who were appearing in their first semi final at the Copa America since 1997.
The opening half was as tight as to be expected but Suarez removed the shackles in the second period and scored twice in five minutes to kill off the tie with half an hour left.
Suarez struck the first on the rebound after Raul Fernandez could only push out Forlan's stinging long-range effort - and, five minutes later, the tie was over once Suarez had rounded Fernandez after Pereira's ball over the top.
Peru's last hope of a dramatic comeback ended 10 minutes after Suarez's second when captain Vargas was sent off for an elbow borne of frustration.
It was a terribly disappointing end to a fine tournament for Peru who had finished bottom of the 2010 World Cup qualifying group with just 11 goals and 13 points from 18 games.
Hopefully, they can build on a truly unexpected semi final berth and, indeed, a third-placed finish following a 4-1 win over Venezuela in the playoff thanks to Jose Guerrero's hat-trick.
The score was a little harsh on the Venezuelans as two of top scorer Guerrero's goals came in the last few moments against tired legs. Nevertheless, Venezuela can also be proud of their efforts in this tournament.
Indeed, they could have gone further with a bit of a luck, losing out to Paraguay 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in which they struck the woodwork three times.
That penalty shoot-out ensured Paraguay progressed to the Final without having won a match inside 90 minutes or even 120 minutes.
Five consecutive draws - five goals for, five against in five matches - the beautiful game, this certainly was not. Neither was another brawl which marred the end of the Venezuela-Paraguay tie.
The spectre of Paraguay's anti-football winning the day loomed large over the tournament but Uruguay ended that prospect comprehensively with their new golden generation.
RESULTS AND STATISTICS
GROUP A
Colombia (7 points) and Argentina (5 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Costa Rica (3 points) and Bolivia (1 point) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 2 July | La Plata | ARGENTINA 1-1 BOLIVIA |
| 2 July | Jujuy | COLOMBIA 1-0 COSTA RICA |
| 7 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 0-0 COLOMBIA |
| 7 July | Jujuy | BOLIVIA 0-2 COSTA RICA |
| 10 July | Santa Fe | COLOMBIA 2-0 BOLIVIA |
| 12 July | Cordoba | ARGENTINA 3-0 COSTA RICA |
GROUP B
Brazil (5 points), Venezuela (5 points) and Paraguay (3 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Ecuador (1 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 3 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 VENEZUELA |
| 3 July | Santa Fe | PARAGUAY 0-0 ECUADOR |
| 9 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 2-2 PARAGUAY |
| 9 July | Salta | VENEZUELA 1-0 ECUADOR |
| 13 July | Salta | PARAGUAY 3-3 VENEZUELA |
| 14 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 4-2 ECUADOR |
GROUP C
Chile (7 points), Uruguay (5 points) and Peru (4 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Mexico (0 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 4 July | San Juan | URUGUAY 1-1 PERU |
| 5 July | San Juan | CHILE 2-1 MEXICO |
| 8 July | Mendoza | URUGUAY 1-1 CHILE |
| 9 July | Mendoza | PERU 1-0 MEXICO |
| 12 July | Mendoza | CHILE 1-0 PERU |
| 13 July | La Plata | URUGUAY 1-0 MEXICO |
QUARTER FINALS
| Date | Venue | |
| 16 July | Cordoba | COLOMBIA 0-2 PERU aet. |
| 16 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 1-1 URUGUAY aet. URUGUAY won 5-4 on pens. |
| 17 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 PARAGUAY aet. PARAGUAY won 2-0 on pens. |
| 17 July | San Juan | CHILE 1-2 VENEZUELA |
SEMI FINALS
| 20 July | La Plata | PERU 0-2 URUGUAY |
| 21 July | Mendoza | PARAGUAY 0-0 VENEZUELA aet. PAR won 5-3 on pens. |
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
| 23 July | La Plata PERU | 4-1 VENEZUELA |
FINAL
| 24 July | Buenos Aires | URUGUAY 3-0 PARAGUAY |
SCORERS
5 goals Pablo Guerrero (Peru)
4 Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
3 Sergio Aguero (Argentina)
2 Neymar, Alexandre Pato (Brazil), Radamel Falcao (Colombia), Felipe Caicedo (Venezuela), Diego Forlan, Alvaro Pereira (Uruguay)
1 Angel di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina), Edivaldo Rojas (Bolivia), Fred, Jadson (Brazil), Esteban Paredes, Alexis Sanchez, Humberto Suazo, Artuto Vidal (Chile), Adrian Ramos (Colombia), Jose Campbell, Josue Martinez (Costa Rica), Nestor Araujo (Mexico), Antolin Alcaraz, Lucas Barrios, Nelson Haedo Valdez, Cristian Riveros, Roque Santo Cruz (Paraguay), William Chiroque, Carlos Lobaton, Juan Manuel Vargas (Peru), Diego Perez (Uruguay), Juan Arango, Gabriel Cichero, Nicolas Fedor, Cesar Gonzalez, Grenddy Perozo, Salomon Rondon, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (Venezuela)
1 own goal Andre Carrillo (Peru) for Chile
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Most Valuable Player Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
Best Young Player Sebastian Coates (Uruguay)
Best Goalkeeper Justo Villar (Paraguay)
TOTAL COPA AMERICAS WON (most recent victory)
15 Uruguay (2011)
14 Argentina (1993)
8 Brazil (2007)
2 Paraguay (1979), Peru (1975)
1 Colombia (2001), Bolivia (1963)
0 Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela have never won the Copa America, nor have any invitees.
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