Brazil eliminated from Copa América after dramatic match against Uruguay

Uruguay has qualified for the semi-finals of the Copa América at the expense of Brazil. After ninety very disappointing minutes in Las Vegas, there was no scoring. Brazil was unable to capitalize on the red card for Nahitan Nández in the final phase and so a penalty shootout had to provide the final decision. In that, mistakes by Éder Militão and Douglas Luiz proved decisive. Uruguay will face Colombia in the semi-finals, who earlier in the day defeated Panama (5-0).

On Uruguay's side, coach Marcelo Bielsa saw no reason to make any changes. Striker Darwin Núñez was supported up front by Maxi Araújo and Facundo Pellistri. On Brazil's side, Vinícius Júnior was absent due to suspension. Endrick replaced him at the point of attack, moving Rodrygo to the left.

Both Brazil and Uruguay were waiting to see what would happen in the opening phase, which could hardly be called spectacular. After fifteen minutes, there was finally some verve with beautiful dribbles by Endrick on one side and Pellistri on the other. This did not yet result in chances, but the match did gain a more open character.

Uruguay was the team that most managed to convert that feeling into danger in front of goal. A deflected corner ended up at the feet of Manuel Ugarte, who bounced the ball to Núñez. The striker looked set to get his attempt on target until Éder Militão cleared his attempt for a corner. Mathías Olivera headed over from the resulting corner.

Out of nowhere, Brazil had a huge chance to open the scoring. Matías Viña saw his back pass to Sergio Rochet intercepted by Endrick, who with a flick of his foot set it up for Raphinha. The FC Barcelona winger just missed a shot, as Nández was paying close attention.

Shortly afterwards, Uruguay suffered a setback. Ronald Araújo had to abandon the fight due to what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Atlético Madrid defender José María Giménez was his replacement and saw shortly after his entrance that Núñez missed a huge chance by heading over from close range. On the other hand, there was also Uruguayan relief when Raphinha had left and had to acknowledge his superior in the former AZ goalie, one-on-one with Rochet.

In the second half, both teams seemed to fear a potentially fatal goal and this was reflected in the lack of attacking intentions from both teams. Shots from Núñez and Maxi Araújo were blocked by defenders, while Brazil managed even less in attack. The dynamic of the match changed fifteen minutes before the end, when Nández was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Rodrygo's ankle.

Bielsa decided to make a defensive change immediately afterwards, taking Núñez and Pellistri off for Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Guillermo Varela. Brazil regained some of their confidence and moved forward, but it was difficult to separate the compact Uruguayans. Uruguay pulled out all the stops to reach the penalty shootout. Rochet was on the ground for several minutes, much to the referee's displeasure.

Substitutes Gabriel Martinelli, Evanilson, Andreas Pereira and Sávio were sent on to force the winning goal. However, Brazil lacked a type like Vinícius, who can play apart a tight defence. Uruguay held on easily and so penalties had to decide the winner. Bielsa's team was the better team in that.

Penalty shootout
Valverde: goal (1-0)
Military: miss (1-0)
Bentancur: goal (2-0)
A. Pereira: goal (2-1)
The Arrascaeta: hit (3-1)
Douglas Luiz: miss (3-1)
Gimenez: miss (3-1)
Martinelli: goal (3-2)
Ugarte: goal (4-2)

Always stay up to date with the most important football news? Join the Voetbalzone WhatsApp channel now!

More news





More sports news