Peru punctuates successful Copa America with third-place finish

Thanks to second-half goals from Andre Carrillo and Jose Paulo Guerrero, Peru beat Paraguay 2-0 on Friday in Concepcion, Chile, and claimed third place for the second straight edition of the Copa America.

The technically proficient and attack-minded Peruvians looked determined to end the tournament on a high note after a heartbreaking loss to host Chile in the semifinals, during which star center back Carlos Zambrano received a controversial straight red card.

Guerrero might have done more than put his name on the score sheet. His four total goals in the tournament are tied with Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas, and if Vargas fails to score in Saturday’s final, Guerrero will become the first back-to-back winner of the Copa America golden boot since Uruguay’s Pedro Petrone in 1924.

After a tight and uneventful first half, Carrillo scored the first goal in the 48th minute off a corner. With the ball bouncing around the box, the Sporting Lisbon star managed to rifle a low shot into the right corner of the net while falling backward:

Guerrero put Paraguay away for good in the 89th minute, finishing off a crisp cross from Joel Sanchez:

The Peruvians also finished third in the 2011 edition of the tournament, but they followed up by winning just four of their 16 World Cup qualifying matches over the next two years.

Now, with an average squad age of 26 and several youngsters among the key contributors, Peru seems fit to make noise at next summer’s 100th-anniversary edition of Copa America and qualify for its first World Cup since 1982.

The Paraguayans are a different story. While there’s no shame in finishing fourth, Paraguay was hammered out of the semifinals by Argentina and must find a new generation of mainstays as the likes of Roque Santa Cruz, Paulo da Silva and Justo Villar slowly exit the international scene.