10-man Uruguay stun Brazil 4-2 in penalty shootout to advance to Copa America semi-finals

La Celeste have defeated Brazil in their last two games.

After finishing the group stage as top of Group C, Uruguay faced Group D runners-up Brazil in the fourth quarter-final of the 2024 Copa America at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Uruguay started the match with an early lead as they dominated the game, leaving Brazil in shock. While Uruguay kept pushing, Brazil survived a scare when striker Darwin Nunez’s deflected effort went just wide of the target.

After a cautious start, the match quickly developed into an intense confrontation, with a number of tough duels and short skirmishes between the two South American giants.

Marcelo Bielsa’s positive momentum was severely undermined when star defender Ronald Araujo’s Copa America match was abandoned due to a leg injury, with José María Giménez replacing him for the remainder of the match.

However, a few minutes later, La Celeste came close to taking the lead when Darwin Nunez’s free header from close range missed the target. After a relatively quiet half, Brazil responded with a huge chance when Raphinha’s fantastic move saw his one-on-one effort superbly saved by Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.

Despite great chances at both ends of the pitch, the match remained level at half-time: 0-0.

The second half was marked by constant interruptions in play as both teams became more physical, resulting in a series of yellow cards being issued by the referee.

After Marcelo Bielsa had to make a substitution in the first half due to an injury, he found himself in an even tougher position in the final quarter of the match, as his team were reduced to ten men due to a foul by Nahitan Nández, which was changed from a yellow card to a red card after a VAR check.

In the final minutes of the match, coach Dorival Junior made his own tactical changes, using all five of his substitutions to inject new energy and increase the pressure on the weakened Uruguayan team.

However, both teams failed to score the winning goal in the final phase. The match ended in 0-0 in regular time. The decisive penalty shootout was now up.

In the end, it was Uruguay who held their nerve the best. Of the five penalties, only one was saved, while Brazil had one saved and one was missed. As a result, La Celeste won the penalty shootout 4-2 and qualified for the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa America, where they will face Colombia.

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