The 2024 Copa America witnessed a dramatic encounter on Saturday as Uruguay edged out arch-rivals Brazil on penalties to secure a spot in the semi-finals vs Colombia.
Brazil vs Uruguay: Tight encounter
The much-anticipated quarter-final clash at Las Vegas lived up to its billing, with neither team able to break the deadlock in regulation time.
Uruguay adopted a high-pressing, aggressive approach, committing more than twice the number of fouls compared to Brazil (26 to 15). Despite this, Brazil carved out the better scoring opportunities throughout the match.
The turning point arrived midway through the second half when Uruguay’s Nahitan Nández received a red card for a reckless tackle, reducing them to 10 men. However, Brazil failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage, and the game went to a penalty shootout.
Early advantage for Uruguay
Uruguay grabbed the upper hand in the shootout with early misses from Brazil. They built a 3-1 lead before José María Giménez’s miss for Uruguay offered Brazil a lifeline. However, Brazil couldn’t convert their chance, and Manuel Ugarte stepped up to calmly slot home the winning penalty for Uruguay (0-0, 4-2 on penalties).
Uruguay vs Colombia in Copa America Semi-Finals
With this victory, Uruguay has booked their place in the semi-finals, where they will face a confident Colombia side riding high after a 5-0 thrashing of Panama.
The winner of this clash will take on the victor of the Argentina-Canada matchup in the Copa America final.
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