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In case you had been anticipating a lovely, free-flowing encounter between two South American giants, you picked the mistaken recreation.
This was the dirtiest match on this yr’s Copa America to this point with 41 fouls, surpassing the 37 in Chile’s 0-0 draw towards Peru on the second day. Uruguay’s Nahitan Nandez was additionally despatched off for a lunge on Rodrygo and there have been 4 extra yellow playing cards on a fractious night in Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas.
After 90 minutes plus stoppage time of pushes, prods and half-chances, it went all the way down to a penalty shootout — and it was Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay who booked their place within the semi-final towards Colombia. Brazil are going dwelling.
Jack Lang and Thom Harris dissect the chaos…
What occurred within the penalty shootout?
There was extra pushing and shoving earlier than the shootout commenced, with the ten males of Uruguay making an attempt to make their presence felt.
Eder Militao stepped up first for Brazil and noticed his effort saved by Sergio Rochet.
(Frederic J. Brown/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
Uruguay transformed their first three spot kicks earlier than Douglas Luiz hit the submit, then Jose Maria Gimenez missed.
Finally, Manuel Ugarte stepped as much as rating the decisive penalty for Uruguay, who received the shootout 4-2.
Uruguay have a good time reaching the semi-finals (Ian Maule/Getty Pictures)
How did Uruguay cease Brazil?
Prime-level footballers get used to being put below strain by the opposition workforce. When you have got the ball, the opposite lot need it again. It’s a legislation of nature.
Enjoying towards a Bielsa aspect is a distinct factor totally, nevertheless. His gamers don’t a lot shut folks down as harass them in packs of two, three, 4. It seems horrible to cope with, frankly. Additionally it is one of many hardest examinations you possibly can face.
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Brazil struggled mightily right here.
Alisson was typically decreased to lumping the ball upfield, to nobody specifically. After they did attempt to go it out from the again, your entire operation appeared fraught with hazard. Joao Gomes had his pocket picked just a few occasions however he was not the one one to fail the check. It was no coincidence that the Selecao’s finest possibilities got here from scrappy, confused chunks of play; there was no sense that they had been ever constructing assaults in any organised method.
Uruguay disrupted Brazil’s rhythm (Robyn Beck/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
There was a slight retrenchment from Uruguay after the break. It’s onerous to keep up that degree of depth for 90 minutes, in spite of everything. The troubling factor for Brazil was that they nonetheless didn’t handle any convincing patterns of play. They appeared like a workforce ready for one thing to occur. Even when Uruguay had been all the way down to 10 males, there was no actual sense that the Selecao had been starting to show the screw. Neither is this the primary time on this Copa America that they’ve lacked fluency.
In a method, that is forgivable. That is nonetheless a workforce in building. Dorival Junior solely took cost in March and issues had been even worse earlier than he turned up. He talks lots about “following the steps”. There have been, in equity, positives to be taken from the best way Brazil blunted Uruguay’s energetic assault.
Nonetheless, that is Brazil. It’s one factor to lose on penalties to a great workforce, however there may be an expectation — self-imposed, certain, however no much less highly effective for that — that they be protagonists, as Dorival properly is aware of. Certainly, because the Selecao laboured away, it was onerous to not suppose again to Andreas Pereira’s provocative phrases on the eve of the sport. “Uruguay dream of getting Brazil’s workforce,” he stated.
Not on this proof, they don’t.
Jack Lang
How did Endrick get on?
The 17-year-old was making his first begin for Brazil given Vinicius Junior, watching from the stands, was suspended after accumulating yellow playing cards within the group stage.
Formally, Endrick was solely fouled 3 times within the opening 45 minutes. Anyone watching will have the ability to let you know that statistic is… mistaken.
Match soccer is ruthless — the significance of profitable solely ramped up on the worldwide stage — so it’s no shock that Uruguay selected to check the resolve of the inexperienced teenage striker from the beginning. In a recreation corresponding to this — tense, tetchy and with every little thing on the road — any signal of weak spot represents a probably treasured method via.
It’s a testomony to his temperament, then, that Endrick wasn’t fouled in any respect within the second half. Brazil’s No 9 bounced again from a lot of the shoves and pushes despatched his method. And even when the referee’s whistle didn’t come to his rescue — because it didn’t after he was charged into by Federico Valverde on 18 minutes — he was rapidly again as much as his ft, solely to get knocked again down once more. This time by Ronald Araujo, sneakily, mercilessly, whereas the ball was far-off.
Away from the bodily battle, Endrick didn’t have an excessive amount of to work with in a cagey however aggressive recreation.
A lot of the soccer was performed within the center third, Uruguay’s relentless man-to-man press leaving no Brazilian with any time on the ball within the attacking half. Endrick drifted backward and forward, making an attempt to indicate for the ball, however each time he acquired it, he had a South American big on his again, and he somewhat snatched at a left-foot shot with six minutes remaining.
Thom Harris
Was Nandez’s pink card justified?
Briefly, sure.
For all the standard on present, this was a fiercely aggressive recreation, and the physicality acquired barely out of hand. There have been 41 fouls all in all (26 from Uruguay, 15 for Brazil) — essentially the most within the match to this point — and the referee would have been justified penalising lots extra crunching collisions and shoves within the again all through.
Nandez is a spiky little buyer, the very embodiment of what Uruguayans name ‘garra charrua’, their trademark never-say-die perspective. His aggression and need to get in entrance of his man additionally personify the intent of Bielsa’s system, trying to win again the ball as rapidly and as near the opposition aim as attainable.
That he’s even enjoying at right-back is a testomony to his willingness to go above and past: he’s, by commerce, a midfielder. In case you had been being beneficiant, you would possibly name his sort out on Rodrygo a midfielder’s problem. Both method, it was crude and harmful. The one shock was {that a} VAR evaluate was required for the referee to achieve that conclusion, changing the preliminary yellow card with a pink.
Nandez tried to plead with referee Dario Herrera (Robyn Beck/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
The nonetheless picture was damning, studs firmly in touch with Rodrygo’s standing leg. It marked Nandez’s twelfth foul of the match — solely Brazil’s Bruno Guimaraes has dedicated extra.
Uruguay survived, however with Araujo limping off to harm, and Nandez suspended, they may head right into a semi-final towards two-year unbeaten Colombia with out two of their defensive pillars.
Thom Harris & Jack Lang
What did Dorival Junior say?
“There have been positives over the video games,” he stated after the match. “Clearly, after a recreation like this, all the nice issues are canceled out. I’m conscious of that.
“We didn’t play at a fantastic degree, technically, however we fought. We by no means stopped going for outcomes. We had been courageous. There are extra positives than negatives from this marketing campaign.
“It wasn’t a fantastic day by way of creativity. The defences had the higher of the assaults.”
What did Marcelo Bielsa say?
“It was a recreation of few possibilities, very disputed, very tight,” he admitted.
“With one man fewer, we needed to defend deep, however we didn’t hand over an opportunity within the second half.”
What’s subsequent for every workforce?
Uruguay will face Colombia within the semifinals on Wednesday, July 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET (Financial institution of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC)
Brazil are eradicated from the match.
Really helpful studying
(Prime picture: Getty Pictures)
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