The Uruguayan national team secured its place in the semifinals of Copa América 2024 after beating Brazil 4-2 in a penalty shootout. On the first Brazilian shot, Sergio Rochet’s save set the course to victory.
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After a rough and goalless match, the game was determined by penalties. It was the third quarterfinal match out of four in this tournament that ended tied at the end of regulation. Luck smiled on Uruguay, as the early save by the Uruguayan goalkeeper was added to Brazil’s Douglas Luiz’s error, after crashing the ball into the left post on his shot attempt.
The match promised action, and during the first minutes both teams were clearly on the attack. The ball was moved from area to area, although scoring opportunities did not present themselves.
The intensity was not sustainable however, and after 25 minutes of the first half the game was hindered, while fouls became a constant. At the end of the first half, the statistics indicated 18 fouls.
After the break, neither Brazil or Uruguay managed to set the pace. The battle persisted in midfield, with little to nothing shining through from the individual talent of Brazilian players Endrick, Paquetá or Rodrygo and the same for Uruguayan stars Darwin Núñez, Maxi Araujo and Federico Valverde.
The interruptions did not subside as the second half progressed, which led the central referee, Darío Herrera, to hand out several preventive (yellow) cards and a red card.
For Uruguay, Manuel Ugarte and Nicolás de la Cruz were colored yellow, and for Brazil it was Joao Gomes. The red card was for Nathan Nández, in the 73rd minute, after a cunning tackle onRodrygo, expelling the Uruguayan player from the match and leaving the team with 10 players for the duration of the match.
Brazil and their coach Dorival Junior, were not able to take advantage of Uruguay playing one man short however, and failed to finish their rival. The absence of Vinicius Junior, the man who could have made the difference but was suspended for accumulation of cards during the group stage, was evident, so the penalty kick series was again the mechanism to define the last semifinalist.
Now, Uruguay – ‘La Celeste’, is among the four remaining teams in the tournament, and will be facing Colombia on Wednesday July 10 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
