Uruguay Secures Semi-Final Spot in Copa America After Penalty Shootout Victory Over Brazil.
Uruguay reached the Copa America semi-finals with a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Brazil, following a tense 0-0 draw in Las Vegas.
Manuel Ugarte scored the decisive spot-kick to send Uruguay through after Eder Militao’s effort was saved and Douglas Luiz hit the post at Allegiant Stadium. The match, filled with 41 fouls, saw both teams struggle to create clear chances during normal time. Uruguay ended the match with 10 men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off.
Uruguay will now face Colombia, who thrashed Panama 5-0 earlier on Saturday, in the semi-finals on Wednesday (01:00 BST, Thursday) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“It was a very tense match against a very tough opponent, especially suffering in the last minutes with a man down. But we showed character despite our youth,” said Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet. “It is a tremendous happiness that this group deserves. The country deserves it. We are very excited, so we are going for more.”
During the match, Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez headed Uruguay’s best chance over the crossbar from close range, while Raphinha was denied by Rochet after a rapid Brazil counter-attack. Nandez was shown a yellow card in the 74th minute for a heavy tackle on Rodrygo, which was upgraded to red following a video assistant referee review. Uruguay defended in numbers for the remainder of the 90 minutes, and the match went straight to penalties without extra time.
In the other quarter-final, James Rodriguez scored one goal and set up two more for Colombia at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Jhon Cordoba headed home James’ corner for an early opener before former Real Madrid and Everton forward James scored a penalty. Liverpool’s Luis Diaz added a clever lob from James’ quick free-kick shortly before half-time. A long-range strike from Richard Rios and Miguel Borja’s penalty capped a convincing display by Colombia.
Argentina, the defending champions, will meet Canada in the first semi-final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday (01:00 BST, Wednesday).
