Copa America: 15 surprises so far

12. Chile destroys Mexico in the quarterfinals 

While plenty of pundits and fans projected the defending champions to at least reach the semifinals, the route they have taken to get there has been somewhat surprising.

The fifth-ranked Chileans were outclassed by Argentina in the opener, and only a very late Jose Fuenzalida goal prevented the 2-1 scoreline from looking worse. Chile bounced back with two wins over Panama and Bolivia to advance out of the group, although both games were a little close for comfort given the talent disparity.

Even with the difference in the FIFA world rankings, Chile was a slight underdog in its quarterfinal against Mexico due to the form the two teams were in. Mexico had not yet been defeated under head coach Juan Carlos Osorio with a mark of nine wins and one draw, and played an impressive, balanced style early in the tournament to win Group C.

All Chile did was dominate Mexico 7-0 in what will go down as one of the most impressive Copa America wins in history. Eduardo Vargas scored four times to throw his name into Golden Ball contention, while Alexis Sanchez seemingly could not be stopped due to his incredible work rate.

Chile’s resolve after a shaky group stage was impressive, and the fact that it completely destroyed a red-hot El Tri squad comes as one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.

Next: 11. Enner Valencia shines in the group stage