Costa Rica striker Paulo Wanchope breathed some life into a third-rate Copa America tournament with an excellent performance in his team's 1-1 draw with Uruguay last night.
Wanchope opened the scoring with a solo goal in the 28th minute. He left three Uruguayans in his path, saw his first shot blocked by a defender but still managed to get to the rebound first to put Costa Rica ahead.
Uruguay, fielding their reserves like many teams in the event, equalised through a Carlos Morales header in the 53rd minute but the lanky Manchester City striker continued to give the South American defence a torrid time.
In the 64th minute, another piece of brilliant play by Wanchope set up a good chance which was wasted by Rolando Fonseca.
The 1-1 draw left both teams with four points from two games in group C and the two countries were guaranteed a quarter-final place when Honduras beat Bolivia 2-0 in the match that followed.
Most teams are taking part without their top players due to fixture congestion and chaotic organisation by the South American Football Confederation, which staged the tournament at six days' notice after earlier postponing it until next year.
Argentina, the continent's strongest team, pulled out and were replaced by Honduras.