Copa America: Ecuador books quarterfinal berth; Haiti goes home

Ecuador stormed into the Copa America quarterfinals with a lopsided 4-0 win over Haiti. The result guarantees Los Amarillos the runner-up spot in Group B, with no shot at winning the group. So it is Ecuador that will travel to Seattle to play USMNT on June 16.

The USA's next opponent kicked off against Haiti knowing it needed a win and as many goals as it could get. Los Amarillos started the game purposefully, and never really let up. Enner Valencia opened the scoring in the 11th minute, latching on to a through ball from Christian Noboa and stroking a low shot past 'keeper Johny Placide.

In the 20th minute, another through ball found Valencia on the run toward goal. He lost his marker, drew Placide toward him and laid off for Jaime Ayovi to pass the ball into an empty net.

Haiti perhaps had the misfortune to threaten just enough to remind Ecuador that a two-goal lead was the miminum required to qualify for the quarterfinals. Los Amarillos' third goal arrived in the 57th minute. Again, the West Ham United striker was involved: Valencia forced a turnover in the final third, dished to Juan Cazares, and watched as the ball moved from Jefferson Montero on his left to Noboa on his right - and then found the net.

In the 78th minute, Enner found Antonio Valencia in a near-perfect copy of the goal he had earlier set up for Ayovi.

Ecuador rolls on to the quarterfinals buoyed by this performance, ready to face the team it last played on May 25 in a pre-tournament friendly which neither side will look back on as its best work (though USA took the win).

Haiti exits Copa America with no wins, no points, and just one goal. This tournament represents the end of a cycle of sorts for Les Grenadiers. Though the World Cup is still two years away, Haiti is already eliminated from contention for a trip to Russia 2018. The team still has a couple of qualifiers to play, but its most significant games will be Caribbean Cup in October - which marks the start of the qualification path to the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Les Grenadiers have already announced their intention to start to look at their next generation of players in friendlies scheduled for this July.