Brazil’s Copa América campaign ended abruptly as they lost to Uruguay in a thrilling penalty shootout. Nahitan Nández of Uruguay was sent off in the 74th minute, giving Brazil a one-man advantage, but the quarterfinal match at Allegiant Stadium finished 0-0 after ordinary time. Brazil was eliminated sooner than anticipated as Uruguay won 4-2 in the shootout.
After taking over in January, Dorival Junior, the new coach of Brazil, takes full ownership of the team’s lackluster performance. “This type of work requires great patience,” Dorival said. “I do have to acknowledge that these weren’t the expected results, and I take full responsibility for them, but I do think that this team has great room to grow, evolve, and improve.”
The match was a physical battle, featuring a tournament-high 41 fouls. Despite their numerical advantage, Brazil struggled to break down Uruguay’sUruguay’s defense. In the penalty shootout, Brazil’sBrazil’s Éder Militão and Douglas Luiz failed to convert their spot-kicks, while Alisson Becker managed to save an attempt from Uruguay defender José María Giménez. However, Manuel Ugarte’s decisive penalty sealed Uruguay’s victory and progression to the semifinals.
After winning the 2019 tournament and finishing as finalists in 2021, Brazil’sBrazil’s departure represents a dramatic decline. Before Uruguay eliminated the squad in the knockout phase, the team could only muster one victory in the group stage. Dorival stressed that his squad was starting a journey with this competition. “This was our first official tournament, and the result was far from what was expected. Our main objective now is to qualify for the World Cup.”
Dorival defended his players, noting that many joined the national team after grueling club seasons. “Many of them joined us after long seasons,” Dorival said. “Considering what we saw at the training sessions and every day, I think we can still grow as a team. Many people might not understand that things are like this when you’re creating a team from scratch. There are ups and downs in football.”
Brazil’sBrazil’s defeat to Uruguay marks their second consecutive loss to Marcelo Bielsa’sBielsa’s side, having previously fallen 2-0 in an October World Cup qualifier, a match in which Brazil star Neymar suffered a torn ACL. Bielsa’s high-pressing tactics were on display again, although Uruguay had to adopt a more defensive stance after going down to ten men.
“Everything that happens happens in Uruguayan style,” Bielsa remarked. “It was a match with very few goal opportunities. When we were one man down, we decided to dedicate ourselves to defend in our half. But yes, we didn’t have very many second-half goal opportunities.”
With this victory, Uruguay maintained their unbeaten run in the Copa América and continued their upward trajectory under Bielsa, who took over in May 2023. Despite their storied history with 15 Copa América titles, tied for the most with Argentina, this is the first time Uruguay has reached the semifinals since their last championship in 2011. They will face Colombia next, with a place in the final at stake.
Uruguay may face challenges with player fitness, as defenders Matías Viña and Ronald Araújo were injured. Bielsa indicated that Viña’sViña’s issue was due to wear and tear, while Araújo’sAraújo’s injury could be a muscle problem, pending further medical evaluation.
Argentina will take against Canada in the other semifinal on the other side of the bracket. The Copa América final, scheduled for July 14 in Miami Gardens, Florida, promises a spectacular way to end the competition.
