Uruguay defeat Brazil to reach Copa America semi-finals

Uruguay defeated Brazil 4-2 on penalties to reach the semi-finals of Copa America after the game ended goalless on Saturday night.

Uruguay, who finished the game with ten players after Nahitan Nandez was sent off in the 74th minute, will face Colombia in Charlotte, North Carolina, in their semi-final on Wednesday, July 10.

Colombia, now unbeaten in 27 games, beat Panama 5-0 in Saturday’s other quarter-final in Arizona.

The other semi-final, in New Jersey on Tuesday, will see world champions Argentina face surprise package Canada.

For five-time world champions Brazil, it was a disappointing early end to a tournament in which they never truly clicked, and a lot of work remains to be done if Dorival Junior’s team are to be in shape to compete for the title in the 2026 World Cup.

In a city better known for boxing than for the beautiful game, it was a bruising contest with little quality play and a tournament-high 41 fouls.

A poor quality playing field hardly helped with both teams struggling to produce their best football on an uneven surface.

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The first – and best – chance of a game of few opportunities came in the 35th minute when Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez had a clear header in front of goal but mistimed his effort which flew wide off his shoulder.

Within moments, Brazil created an opening of their own with Raphinha breaking clear, but Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet stayed tall and made a vital save.

Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay were as tenacious as always, harrying Brazil in midfield and never afraid to interrupt their flow with a foul.

Brazil resorted too often to long balls forward but with only their 17-year-old talent Endrick, in for the suspended Vinicius Junior, as a central striker they lacked the physical presence to make that approach effective.

The game deteriorated the longer it went on with foul after foul, not deterred by lenient refereeing.

Bielsa praised his team’s calmness in the shoot-out and their desire during the 90 minutes.

He 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.

“Today we outplayed Brazil in segments of the game and were outplayed in others.”

The tournament’s final will be held in Miami on July 14.

The Star