LAS VEGAS, 7 Jul: Marcelo Bielsa knew what the world\u2019s reaction would be after Uruguay and Brazil grinded, scrapped and shoved their way through a Copa America quarterfinal match with 41 fouls, four shots on target and no goals in open play.
\nBielsa knows the beautiful game wasn\u2019t so attractive Saturday night, but the famously inventive coach now running Uruguay\u2019s bench only cared about the celebrations back home and in the Vegas stands when La Celeste picked up a landmark win.
\nManuel Ugarte scored the decisive goal in the fifth round of the shootout and Uruguay advanced to the Copa America semifinals with a 4-2 penalty kick victory after the teams played to a scoreless draw.
\nUruguay and Brazil played a bruising, choppy match with plenty of rough stuff, but little of the impressive soccer for which both South American powerhouses are known. Uruguay\u2019s Nahitan N\u00e1ndez was sent off after a red card in the 74th minute for a dangerous tackle on Rodrygo, but Brazil still couldn\u2019t break through its 10-man opponent in the ensuing 21 minutes.
\n\u201cI (prefer) offensive football, but in this match, we created more opportunities and we defended well,\u201d Bielsa said through an interpreter. \u201cWe did the things necessary to succeed at this level.\u201d
\nUruguay led 3-1 after three rounds of the shootout when goalkeeper Sergio Rochet stopped \u00c9der Milit\u00e3o and Douglas Luiz hit the post. Alisson Becker saved Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Gim\u00e9nez\u2019s shot in the fourth round to keep Brazil alive, but Ugarte banged home the clincher.
\n\u201cIf you ask me if I\u2019m happy that we only created three goal-scoring opportunities, then no,\u201d Bielsa said. \u201cBut our opponent only had two goal-scoring opportunities. We had to work hard to create our opportunities … but that was satisfactory to us.\u201d
\nAfter the third penalty shootout in four Copa America quarterfinal matches, Uruguay advanced to face Colombia in the semifinals on Wednesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. Colombia routed Panama 5-0 earlier Saturday, extending its unbeaten streak to 27 consecutive matches.
\n\u201cWe believe we\u2019re in good shape to play against any opponent,\u201d Bielsa said.
\nDefending champion Argentina faces Canada in the other semifinal Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The final is July 14 in Miami Gardens.
\nBrazil played without Real Madrid star Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior, who watched from the stands under suspension after accumulating two yellow cards. The Sele\u00e7\u00e3o already are without Neymar, who hasn\u2019t played since tearing a knee ligament last fall during Brazil\u2019s loss to Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.
\nThat victory was Uruguay\u2019s first over Brazil in 13 meetings since 2001, but Bielsa\u2019s group has now beaten Brazil in back-to-back matches for the first time since 1992.
\nEndrick made his first career start in place of Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior, but the 17-year-old phenomenon headed to Real Madrid later this month couldn\u2019t shake Brazil from its offensive funk. Except for a 4-1 win over overmatched Paraguay, Brazil scored one combined goal and earned just one victory in its other three Copa America matches \u2014 and the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o is headed home despite never trailing in the tournament.
\n\u201cThere were positives in every match,\u201d coach Dorival J\u00fanior said through an interpreter. \u201cIt\u2019s only natural after a match like this one that something we\u2019d consider positive is ruled out. I\u2019m aware of that. We didn\u2019t perform at a high technical level, but I don\u2019t throw out any of the matches. There was dedication, fighting spirit. It was always a courageous team. I believe we had more positives than negatives. The fact we didn\u2019t seize (the opportunity) despite outnumbering (Uruguay) will be analyzed.\u201d
\nUruguay advanced to the Copa America semifinals for the first time since winning the tournament in 2011, and it knocked Brazil out for the first time in four tries since 1995.
\nBoth teams played cautiously and contentiously from the start. During a stoppage in the 17th minute, Ronald Ara\u00fajo shoulder-checked Endrick to the ground from behind while the teenager complained about an earlier non-call. Raphinha responded by knocking down Ara\u00fajo, but order was restored.
\nAra\u00fajo, the oft-injured Barcelona defender, left the game with an apparent injury to his right leg in the 31st minute. Bielsa later called it a muscle injury.
\nAfter 35 minutes with few scoring opportunities, the teams traded their best chances 35 seconds apart. Right after Darwin N\u00fa\u00f1ez botched an unobstructed header deep in Brazil\u2019s box, Raphinha was stopped at close range by Rochet.
\nN\u00e1ndez, a 28-year-old veteran who recently left Cagliari for the Saudi Pro League, was sent off after video review of his overzealous, straight-legged tackle on Rodrygo, whose right ankle buckled at contact.
\nBielsa took off star Liverpool striker N\u00fa\u00f1ez moments later, retreating into a defensive posture that got Uruguay to penalty kicks. Endrick created perhaps the strongest chance for Brazil in the 84th minute, but his shot was smothered by Rochet.
\nThe teams played in air-conditioned comfort in the Las Vegas Raiders\u2019 home stadium with 113-degree Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) heat outside. The crowd included NBA stars Joel Embiid and Devin Booker, who sat in Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior\u2019s box. AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAS VEGAS, 7 Jul: Marcelo Bielsa knew what the world\u2019s reaction would be after Uruguay and Brazil grinded, scrapped and shoved their way through a Copa America quarterfinal match with 41 fouls, four shots on target and no goals in open play. Bielsa knows the beautiful game wasn\u2019t so attractive Saturday night, but the famously […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-243892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}