Uruguay ousts Brazil on penalties to advance to Copa America semifinals

LAS VEGAS — The Copa America is the lifeblood of the Uruguayan national team. 

They're tied with Argentina at 15 Copa America titles for the all-time lead, and they're even more successful in the tournament historically than their Brazilian rivals. The World Cup is a legendary achievement for any country to relish in, but the Copa America is where true pressure resides. 

Winning on the global level is a wonderful achievement. Winning continentally, especially if you're a team with the pedigree of Uruguay, is simply essential. 

Saturday night's quarterfinal matchup at Allegiant Stadium was perfectly on-par with what you'd expect out of a Uruguay vs. Brazil knockout game at the Copa America. The first half was filled with tense action, the second half with a nervous tension. 

It had questionable referees and even a 74th minute red card that Uruguay managed to maneuver through in the final 16-plus minutes of regulation to reach penalties with 10 men on the field.

In the end, Uruguay survived with a 4-2 advantage on penalty kicks in a 0-0 draw.

And it was the Uruguayan fans who remained in the south end zone for more than an hour after the match. In pure bliss. 

“There was a great level of suspense, and you know how suspense works in human beings when it is impossible to foresee how you can solve situations,” Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa said. “It leads you to explosive emotions, and I am also vulnerable to it. I'm no exception.

“When you work at the level of a national team, there aren't many opportunities to generate renovations or transformations in the team, and this is a special period of time, because we have been working together for 40 days.”

Of course, if you aren't aware, both the Euros and the Copa have been stricken by a trendy new rule that removed extra-time from all knockout stage games sans the final. There's no denying that it saved the Uruguayans as 30 minutes of stoppage time would have made a Brazil goal a near formality. 

Brazil managed to get close to the front steps a few times, but their hand didn’t quite reach the doorbell. The lack of aggression from Brazil in those waning moments was the subject of scrutiny in the Brazilian press after the game.  

“(We didn’t push harder when Uruguay had 10 men) because we had two booked players,” Dorival Jr. said. “That was one of the triggers. Then our midfield was very crowded in order to switch sides. Then with Rodrygo and Sabinha, we wanted to use those flanks to allow the midfield to move higher.

“We tried. We made those attempts, but then I also substituted Evanilson and Gabriel Martinelli to see if we could get through the back line. They were holding firmly.”

Uruguay had little to sweat about during penalties, as Brazil missed two of their first attempts in the wake of three successful Uruguay attempts to start the shootout. A Gabriel Martinelli conversion for Brazil gave them one last gasp, but Manuel Agarte denied any and all oxygen by burying Uruguay's fourth PK attempt to seal the 4-2 advantage and a berth in the Copa America semifinals.

“Everything that happens, happens Uruguayan style,” Bielsa said. “Because the players are the ones that give their all to the team. It was a match with very little goal opportunities, highly contested, very close, even with very little changes in ball possession and when we were one man down, we decided to dedicate ourselves to defend in our half, but yes, we didn't have many second half goal opportunities. 

“So, holding to that result as the Uruguayan team did shows the profile of the Uruguayan football and they were very calm to take on the penalty shootout that does not only demand accuracy, but also character.”

Brazil was without star Vinicius Jr., who was suspended for the match because of an accumulation of yellow cards. Starting in his place was 17-year-old phenom Endrick, who had a disappointing night. All in all, it was a sobering end to a promising tournament for Brazil. 

“It is only natural that after a match such as this one, everything that we might consider positive is ruled out,” Brazil coach Dorival Jr. said. “I am aware of that. Many things happened throughout the tournament.We didn't perform at a high level technically, but I do not wipe off any of the matches.

“I think there was a great delivery. There was a very good battle that we waged in every match. They were always on a quest for results … I think the positives were more than the negatives. The fact that we didn't cease outnumbering them will be analyzed."