Copa America: 15 surprises so far

Jun 9, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Venezuela midfielder Tomas Rincon (8) and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (4) and defender Wilker Angel (2) celebrate a victory against Uruguay in a group play stage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario at Lincoln Financial Field. Venezuela won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jun 11, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Costa Rica midfielder Johan Venegas (11) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first half against Colombia during the group play stage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

10. Costa Rica tops Colombia

While there were bigger shocks on the team level, one of the most surprising individual match results of the tournament came on June 11 in Houston.

Costa Rica entered the Centenario at 23rd in the FIFA world rankings and had a chance to at least cause some trouble in a difficult Group A. A scoreless draw with Paraguay to open the tournament wasn’t a terrible result, but Costa Rica was reeling following a 4-0 destruction at the hands of the United States, and looked to be in serious trouble moving forward.

Meanwhile, third-ranked Colombia had high expectations for the Centenario as a top title threat and opened with wins over the United States and Paraguay. While the game was meaningless in terms of advancing to the knockout stage, Colombia was expected to have little trouble with the Costa Ricans even while resting multiple starters.

Instead, Costa Rica came away with a 3-2 upset in arguably the most exciting and wild game of the tournament. Johan Venegas scored in the third minute to put Costa Rica up, and it was able to hold on for the win after James Rodriguez and Edwin Cardona came on at halftime.

The win at least helped Costa Rica salvage something from the tournament, and forced Colombia to settle for second place in Group A. Given the respective forms both teams were in, Costa Rica’s win over Colombia ranks among the tournament’s biggest upsets.

Next: 9. Jamaica fails to show up

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