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• Argentina 2-0 Peru: Martinez double seals top spot with knockout blow to La Blanquirroja

  Lautaro Martinez's fine goalscoring form continued as he sealed top spot for Argentina in Group A, with a 2-0 victory over Peru, who were eliminated from the competition.

  With Lionel Messi out due to a groin injury, the forward stepped up, scoring at the start and end of the second half to ease any nerves after a slow first 45 minutes at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

  Leandro Paredes' miss from the penalty spot did not prove costly as Peru failed to threaten in what was a must-win game.

  Argentina will face the runner-up of Group B in their quarter-final, while Canada take second place in the group after their 0-0 draw with Chile, while Peru make an early exit.

  With a place in the quarter-finals already secured, Argentina made a slow start to the game - Alejandro Garnacho's deflected curler was their only chance in the opening 25 minutes.

  The goalkeeper was required to keep things level shortly after, getting a strong hand to stop Paredes' whipped free-kick from heading into the top-left corner.

  Giovani Lo Celso was then picked out on the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, but Gallese parried his first-time shot before Garnacho fired the rebound just over the crossbar.

  The half-time team talk worked wonders for Argentina, as Angel Di Maria cut Peru's defence wide open by picking out Martinez, who deftly chipped the opener over Gallese just two minutes into the second half.

  Nicolas Tagliafico thought he had doubled their tally moments later, poking over the line from a corner, but it was disallowed as Lo Celso was blocking the goalkeeper's view from an offside position.

  Argentina had another chance to double their lead in the 69th minute, with Jesus Castillo penalised for a handball as he slid in to block Paredes' cross in the box, and the midfielder could not profit, rattling the inside of the post with a powerful spot-kick.

  In an almost carbon copy of his first goal, Martinez raced in behind once again in the 86th minute and lifted a lovely effort over Gallese, who could not get a hand to it.

  Franco Zanelatto almost salvaged some pride for La Blanquirroja in the dying moments, but his thumping header bounced off the near post and, agonisingly, along the face of goal.

  Martinez retains golden touch

  Though Argentina were already into the quarter-finals with a game to spare, it felt like they might not be at their best without talisman Messi and manager Lionel Scaloni, who was serving a touchline ban.

  However, Martinez has stepped up in this tournament, scoring in all three of their group games as he leads the race for the Golden Boot with four goals to his name.

  His first two strikes both came off the bench, with his late winner sending the Albiceleste into the knockout stages against Chile, and he made the most of his first start in the tournament with an early goal in the second half.

  It is just the third time this century that Argentina have won all three of their group games - the last two times (2007, 2016) they finished as runners-up, but Scaloni will be hoping they can go one better and defend their title this time around.

  Peru go out with a whimper

  This year's Copa America has been a tournament to forget for Peru, who go out of the tournament with just one point to their name - it is the first time they have been eliminated without a single victory since 1995.

  La Blanquirroja needed a win to have a chance of snagging second spot, with hope that Canada and Chile played out a draw in the other Group A game.

  However, they managed just six shots in the game, creating an expected goals of 0.14, and finish the tournament with a meagre tally of 22 efforts from their three matches without hitting the back of the net.

  It was always going to be a tough ask to get a win against the defending champions, even with all of their changes, but Peru's starting front three of Bryan Reyna, Paolo Guerrero and Edison Flores not managing a single shot did not make matters easier.

• Paraguay 1-4 Brazil: Vinicius stars in Selecao's statement win

  Vinicius Junior played a starring role as Brazil kick-started their Copa America campaign with a commanding 4-1 victory over 10-man Paraguay, who were eliminated from the competition.

  The Real Madrid forward scored twice for the Selecao, who opened the tournament with a drab goalless draw against Costa Rica on Monday, while Savinho and Lucas Paqueta were also on target at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. 

  Dorival Junior's side subsequently closed in on a quarter-final spot by moving onto four points in Group D – two behind leaders Colombia, who they will join in the last eight with a draw when the nations meet in their final group outing on Tuesday.

  Meanwhile, Omar Alderete's wonderful long-range strike proved academic for Paraguay, as La Albirroja bowed out following their second successive defeat, which was compounded by a late Andres Cubas red card.

  Brazil were presented with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock on the half-hour mark. Referee Piero Maza Gomez pointed straight to the penalty spot as Paqueta's shot struck Cubas' arm, but the West Ham midfielder could only fire wide from 12 yards out.

  Nevertheless, Brazil broke through four minutes later as a lovely move culminated in Vinicius latching onto Paqueta's throughball, and drilling under Rodrigo Morinigo's dive.

  The Selecao doubled their lead when Savinho tapped home in the 43rd minute, and it was 3-0 in stoppage time - albeit in fortunate circumstances - as Alderete's attempted stabbed clearance ricocheted back into the net off the onrushing Vinicius.

  The Paraguay centre-half atoned for his mistake in spectacular fashion three minutes after the restart, with a superb 25-yard volley reducing the deficit.

  Alisson Becker then pushed Julio Enciso's dangerous curling strike away during an impressive spell by Daniel Garnero's side.

  However, any hopes they had of a fightback were quashed in the 64th minute when Mathias Villasanti was adjudged to have handled Savinho's shot, with Paqueta making no mistake from the spot this time.

  Paraguay's misery was compounded with nine minutes remaining, when Cubas was given his marching orders for lashing out at Douglas Luiz.

  Vinicius at the double in Brazil victory

  This had the potential to be awkward for Brazil, who were winless in their last five Copa America meetings with Paraguay, and they were fresh from that disappointing draw with Costa Rica.

  The Selecao enjoyed 74% of possession, completed 695 passes and registered 19 shots in their opener, but to no avail.

  However, they scored from four of their six attempts on target today to tighten their grip on second place in Group D, and all but secure their quarter-final spot - with third-place Costa Rica requiring a six-goal swing to displace Dorival's side.

  Having recorded the lowest tallies of touches (45) and passes (23) by any outfield starter for Brazil on matchday one, Vinicius looked back to his best here with the most goals (two), dribbles (17), duels (21) and touches in opposition box (11).of any player.

  Savinho - brought into the starting line-up after his impressive cameo from the bench against Costa Rica - also got in on the act with his first senior international goal.

  Powerless Paraguay bow out

  Paraguay do have pedigree when it comes to the Copa America. Two-time winners in 1953 and 1979, they arrived in the United States having only suffered two group-stage exits in the 21st century.

  However, it was La Albirroja's overall record that was the concern, having only registered three wins from a possible 15 heading into this game.

  They had also lost each of their 18 previous matches when conceding the first goal, so things looked fairly ominous when Vinicius broke through and paved the way for Brazil's late first-half flurry.

  To their credit, Paraguay responded well after the break with Alderete's wonderful goal and Enciso testing Alisson, and they managed to match the Selecao's six shots on target throughout the contest.

  Nevertheless, overturning such a deficit was always going to be a tough ask, and Brazil eventually got back on track to see out a comfortable victory, which means Garnero's side join Jamaica in the departure lounge.

• Vancouver Whitecaps v St. Louis City: Sartini calls for courage in Canada

  A defiant Vanni Sartini believes Vancouver Whitecaps are on the right track, but called for more confidence and courage when St. Louis City visit in MLS.

  The Whitecaps endured a disappointing two-game road stretch, culminating in their 2-0 defeat to Portland Timbers last time out.

  That loss saw Vancouver drop to ninth in the Western Conference standings, only clinging onto the final playoff spot by way of a superior goal difference over Seattle Sounders.

  Sartini acknowledged the frustrations of the last two showings, though suggests the Whitecaps can get back on course at BC Place.

  "The concerns are always there, even if you win," Sartini said at pre-match media availability.

  "It sounds very easy to say, but we just need to be a little better. That means a lot of things, however. Our performance hasn't gone down dramatically.

  "The efficiency of our performances has gone down dramatically, though. We need to be better at finishing our chances, and being mentally stronger.

  "The last couple of games before the break, we had two strong mental performances [in Kansas and Colorado]. Even though we weren't playing amazingly, we weren't making mistakes.

  "The last two games away, we created more chances than in the games before, but we have been too easy to beat, we get a little flat when we hit the first trouble of those matches.

  "We need to be more confident, courageous and more like: 'let's focus on the task'. If we are doing this, then the margin to make a lot of points is shorter."

  Bradley Carnell's visitors are winless in their last eight domestic outings following a 1-1 draw with Atlanta United in their most recent fixture.

  St. Louis are just three places behind the Whitecaps, though, with this the chance to strike a blow to their hosts' playoff hopes.

  Carnell must arrest a poor spell in front of goal, however, as St. Louis have scored the second-fewest goals in the West this season (24).

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Vancouver Whitecaps – Ryan Gauld

  Ryan Gauld has followed up his 11-goal 2023 with nine goals already this season.

  With one more goal, Gauld will become the third Whitecaps player with multiple 10-goal seasons (Camilo Sanvezzo, Brian White) and the first to do so in consecutive campaigns.

  St. Louis City – Indiana Vassilev

  Indiana Vassilev scored his fifth regular-season goal for St. Louis on Saturday, becoming the sixth different player to hit the mark for the club in league play.

  Only three teams have more players with five or more regular-season goals than St. Louis since they joined the league in 2023 (Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United, FC Cincinnati – seven each).

  MATCH PREDICTION – VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

  The Whitecaps are the likely favourites for a narrow victory in this one, owing to St. Louis' woeful away form.

  Carnell's side have managed only three wins in 26 games on the road in all competitions (drawn eight, lost 15) since winning their first three away matches in club history between February and March 2023.

  Yet, it will be by no means straightforward for Vancouver.

  They have lost consecutive matches following the defeat to Portland on Saturday, but Vancouver have not suffered three straight defeats within a single regular season since August-September 2022.

  There is little to split these two teams in terms of the head-to-head record, with each side recording a home win against the other in two meetings between Vancouver and St. Louis City last season.

  The hosts scored three goals in each game, while Brian White scored in both outings for the Whitecaps.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Vancouver Whitecaps win – 51.1%

  Draw – 24.8%

  St. Louis City win – 24%