Uruguay defeated Brazil 4-2 on penalties to reach the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa America after the regulation time ended 0-0.
Vinicius was missing in action for Brazil due to suspension and he was replaced by Endrick, who struggled with form during the match.
Brazil, who have failed to shine in the competition struggled to impress once again as Uruguay made life difficult for them with dogged defending and physical football.
Darwin Nunez missed a glorious opportunity to put Uruguay ahead after he failed to connect his header from a good position.
A few minutes later, Raphinha’s effort from a counter attack was saved by Uruguay’s goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.
Uruguay’s Nahitan Nandez was sent off in the 74th minute for a dangerous foul on Rodrygo but Marcelo Bielsa’s men held on to take the game into penalties because there is no extra time in the competition.
Uruguay kept their nerves to advance with a 4-2 victory from the penalty shootout.
Federico Valverde set the ball rolling for Uruguay with a superb kick before Eder Militao missed his own effort.
Douglas Luis hit the post for Brazil to give Uruguay a 3-1 lead Allison Becker also saved superbly from Jose Gimenez.
Gabriel Martinelli scored to give Brazil a semblance of hope but Manuel Ugarte kept his cool to send Uruguay into the last four of the competition.
Uruguay coach, Marcello Bielsa was full of praise for his team following an impressive performance against Brazil.
Bielsa said, “I’m more seduced by attacking than defending, but I have to appreciate that in a tight game we created one more situation than our opponents, we defended well and we played 15 minutes with one less player, which at this level is a real factor,
“If you ask me if I’m happy with having created three goal situations in 90 minutes, no, I’m not. But our opponents had two,”
On the other hand, Brazil coach, Dorival Junior admitted that his side failed to live up to expectations in the competition.
Junior said, “We leave the tournament undefeated but not satisfied,
“We didn’t play at a high level from a technical point of view, but I don’t dismiss any of the games. I think there was commitment, fighting spirit. At no time did the team stop going for the result,
“This process needs patience. We have two years to work before the World Cup. The first thing is to qualify for the World Cup because we are sixth in the (South American qualifiers) and it is a position that makes us uncomfortable,”
Brazil only won once and drew twice in the group stage before another draw against Uruguay in the regulation time as the stars failed to shine.
Argentina will take on Canada in the first semi final on Tuesday while Uruguay will battle it out with Colombia on Wednesday.
Uruguay Dump Brazil Out Of Copa America is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
