Punters would have been given long odds on Bolivia and Peru both finishing runners-up in their respective Copa America groups, but the two South American nations defied the doubters to do just that.

Now, they will meet in the Southern Chilean city of Temuco during the early hours of Friday morning, with the winner booking their place in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Bolivia

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Along with Jamaica, many viewed Bolivia to simply be making up the numbers in what is the 44th edition of this competition.

After all, since they were beaten finalists while hosting the tournament back in 1997, La Verde had not won a single Copa match. Also, they had not won a competitive fixture away from the high altitude of their capital city La Paz in over 20 years.

It all meant that after the three group encounters had been played, many expected Mauricio Soria and his players to be boarding the next plane home.

Yet, a dour 0-0 draw was followed by a 3-2 victory over Ecuador, which all but secured their spot in the last eight. That was just as well, because in their final group encounter Bolivia's frailties were exposed by hosts Chile, who romped to a 5-0 win in Santiago.

Nevertheless, the fact that they have reached this stage of the Copa is likely to be a confidence boost for the entire squad and in particular striker Marcelo Martins.

The former Wigan Athletic man had gone over two years without finding the net at international level, but he ended that drought against Ecuador last Monday, with the relief on his face there for all to see.

Recent form: DWLDWL

Peru

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To qualify as runners-up in a group that contained both Brazil and Colombia should be regarded as a triumph for Peru, who lost 2-1 to the former courtesy of a stoppage-time goal, while they played out a 0-0 draw with the latter.

The result that got them to this stage, though, was a 1-0 win over Venezuela. The goal was scored by former Chelsea frontman Claudio Pizarro, who showed good composure from close range.

The quarter-finals of the Copa is by no means uncharted territory for the Peruvians, having reached at least this point in the tournament in seven of the last eight instalments.

It was four years ago that they made the biggest impression during that run as they advanced through to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by eventual champions Uruguay. Yet, the tournament ended on a high note thanks to a 4-1 hammering of Venezuela, which sealed third spot. It was Peru's best showing at the tournament since they were crowned champions back in 1975.

A large contributing factor to that success of 2011 was down to Paolo Guerrero, who was the leading scorer with five goals to his name - a haul which included a hat-trick against the Venezuelans.

As a result, much was expected of the ex-Bayern Munich frontman, but he is yet to find the back of the net this time around.

Recent form: WLDLWD

Team News

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The aforementioned Guerrero may not have scored for his country since last November, but he is expected to keep his place in Ricardo Gareca's starting lineup.

He should partner Pizarro in attack, which would once again confine Schalke 04 winger Jefferson Farfan to the bench.

Behind the striking duo, it is anticipated that Christian Cueva and Carlos Lobaton, both of whom have impressed so far, will feature in midfield.

Meanwhile, Bolivia head coach Soria rung the changes for the hefty defeat to Chile, so it would not be a surprise if he decided to revert back to type on this occasion.

If that is to be the case, Miguel Hurtado, Edward Zenteno, Danny Bejarano and Damian Lizio could all earn recalls.

Bolivia possible starting lineup:
Quinonez; Hurtado, Raldes, Zenteno, Morales; Smedberg, Bejerano, Chumacero, Escobar, Pedriel; Martins

Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Advincula, Zambrano, Ascues, Vargas; Lobaton, Cueva, Sanchez, Ballon; Pizarro, Guerrero

Head To Head

If the recent meetings between these two teams are anything to go by, this clash could well go all the way through extra time and to penalties.

Since September 2011, there have been four games, all of which have ended in draws.

However, overall the bragging rights belong to Peru, who have beaten their Bolivian counterparts on 22 occasions while tasting defeat 13 times.

They last faced other in the Copa back in 2007, when Pizarro scored both of Peru's goals in a 2-2 draw. In total, four of the 36-year-old's 18 international goals have been scored against Bolivia.

We say: Bolivia 0-2 Peru

While Peru have shown themselves to be relatively tight defensively, the same cannot be said of the Bolivians. They shipped more goals in the group stages than any other country and that leakiness could end up being their downfall in this quarter-final. Peru have plenty of attacking talent and providing that they are on form, they should have enough to win through.

Written by
Liam Apicella

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