GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Saturday’s Copa American quarterfinal, where shambolic Brazil fell to Uruguay
Is this really what Brazil are now? This is the nation, after all, with more World Cup trophies than any other. Their books tell the lore of stars like Pele, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazario, Zico, Roberto Carlos and, most recently, Neymar. Land of the Samba, the country of showmanship, the founders of Joga Bonito.
Brazil are supposed to be fun. They are the team who dances like no other, the squad you fall in love with on the field.
Saturday night in the Copa America quarterfinals against Uruguay, they looked anything but. There was no Samba, no Joga Bonito. It was a dire, lifeless, mess. A 0-0 draw in regulation. La Celeste topped the Selecao 4-2 in the ensuing penalty shootout, advancing to the semifinals where they will take on James Rodriguez and Colombia.
The Selecao were dragged into a borderline murderous contest by Uruguay, and never looked like getting out of it. After a scoreless 90 minutes, they were sent out of the Copa America on penalty kicks – and on performance alone could have few complaints.
Forced to operate without the suspended Vinicius Jr – and severely lacking the creative instinct brought by the injured Neymar – Brazil turned in a miserable showing. Despite having more possession of the ball, their attacking flow was nowhere to be found. Across 90 dire minutes, they managed just three shots on target, and rarely had the ball near the Uruguay goal.
Chances were at a premium in general here, and the Selecao never really figured out how to create them. Raphinha had two good looks in the first half, but that was otherwise it – this game always seemed destined for penalties. And when it came to the big moment, Brazil collapsed. Douglas Luiz and Eder Militao missed their spot-kicks, while Uruguay buried four of five to advance to the semis against Colombia next week.
Brazil, now, are forced to reset.
They have now exited back-to-back major tournaments on penalties, and have some serious questions to be asked ahead of the 2026 World Cup cycle. Perhaps becoming reasonably watchable would be a good start.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Allegiant Stadium…
Source link : https://www.goal.com/en/lists/brazil-winners-and-losers-selecao-copa-america-uruguay/bltec8bb5323a2b7d98
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Publish date : 2024-07-07 03:00:00
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