EAST RUTHERFORD — Sunday was decision day in Group B at the Copa America Centenario as Brazil, Peru and Ecuador all fought for the two spots in the knockout rounds on the final matchday of the group stage.

Peru and Brazil, who face each other in Foxborough after Ecuador faced Haiti in New Jersey, led the group with four points after two games, with the Tricolor trailing in third with two points.

After drawing its first two matches against the leaders, Ecuador needed a win against group punching bag Haiti in order to have a chance of advancing.

A multi-goal win of any number would be enough for Ecuador to advance from the group stage, but only a minimum six-goal advantage would put the side as group leaders, a goal the Tricolor appeared dead-set on based on the way it opened the match.

While it wasn’t able to reach the goal by matching Brazil’s 7-1 scoreline and reach first place, Ecuador did guarantee second place in Group B, easily pushing Haiti aside in a 4-0 thrashing.

With the result, Ecuador will face the United States in Seattle Thursday.

They were the aggressors from kick-off, pushing numbers forward, pursuing the initial goal as soon as it could find it.

The strategy was effective immediately, with the first moment of danger coming in the second minute when Ecuador earned the first corner of the match. Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide let Walter Ayovi’s cross slip from his hands, leaving the ball on a plate for Arturo Mina, but the center back skied the shot over goal.

Two minutes later, the other Ayovi — Jaime — was on the receiving end of a chance as he latched onto a threading ball which set him through on goal, but he slipped before getting a shot off.

After the Ayovis were unable to put Ecuador in front, it was the Valencias turn to take a crack at goal. While Antonio’s strike flashed wide in the 9th minute, Enner Valencia didn’t squander his chance as he calmly slotted a shot past Placide in the 11th minute after being put cleanly through on goal to give Ecuador a 1-0 lead.

Haiti was no threat in the opening minutes and that didn’t change following the first goal. Ecuador continued to push the pace and dominate possession, seeking the second goal to calm its nerves.

Enner Valencia nearly put the majority of the 49,438 in attendance at MetLife Stadium at ease in the 17th minute, but his brace was held off by Placide after the Haitian saved the West Ham wingers’ rocket strike. The resulting corner wouldn’t do it either as Frickson Erazo bounced a header off the turf and over the bar.

Though Placide stopped Valencia’s shot, he was helpless minutes later as he faced him one-on-one. Jaime Ayovi put Enner through on goal with a brilliant dummy at midfield and he was awarded with a goal as Valencia awaited his run and laid it off before Ayovi passed it into the empty net to make it 2-0 Ecuador.

The second goal of the match ended the possibility of a coin toss deciding second place in group B, a game of chance the Tricolor may have lost given how unlucky both sides were on occasion in East Rutherford.

Haiti earned its first set piece shortly after Ecuador’s second goal, its first chance of bringing danger to Alexander Dominguez’ goal.

Les Grenadiers came close to making their opponents pay with a thundering header that crashed off the bar and a rebound header which looped over the bar and forced the sea of yellow in the stands to hold its breath.

Not to be outdone, the Tricolor had a vicious header of their own rattle off Haiti’s crossbar, Erzo the wasteful culprit once again.

The sequence was the start of a shift in the match, with Ecuador’s pace and rhythm slowing significantly as Haiti grew into the game and continued to threaten to close the gap in the score.

Both teams traded blows to close the first half and the trend bled into the start of the second half. Haiti forced Dominguez into his first save of the match in the 50th minute and hit second five minutes later.

Sandwiched in between was a goal-line clearance by a brilliantly positioned Romain Genevois on the other end, the center back denying Ecuador of a lovely worked goal on a counter attack.

While it didn’t succeed at first, the Tri tried again four minutes later, this time finding success as Christian Noboa, who already had an assist, finished the sweeping move on a half-volley to make it 3-0.

The chances continued to come for both sides but every few minutes rather than seconds. The matches rhythm continued to drop as the time slowly rose. Ecuador fought to expand its lead in pursuit of first place, inching closer when the Valencias connected to make it 4-0 with 12 minutes to go, but there would be no more goals after Antonio finished off a pass from Enner.

Regardless, Ecuador advances to the quarterfinals of Copa America, pushing its dream of winning the competition for the first time ever one step further.

Follow Brian Fonseca on Twitter (@briannnnf) for updates on Copa America.