PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. overcame playing down a man for 42 minutes and rode Clint Dempsey’s 27th-minute goal to beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday and advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa América Centenario. The night got even better later on, when Costa Rica lent a hand by beating Colombia 3-2, giving the U.S. first place in Group A through the goal-differential tiebreaker.
Dempsey’s goal, the 51st of his U.S. career, came on a decisive finish after Gyasi Zardes had done good work down the left in a 1-on-2 situation before sending a low cross to the East Texan.