On the morning of July 7, the Brazilian team lost to rival Uruguay with a score of 2-4 after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout (0-0 draw in regular time) in the tense 4th quarter-final match of Copa America 2024, saying goodbye to the game early.

The two Brazilian players who missed penalties in the shootout were centre-back Eder Militao and striker Douglas Luiz. On Uruguay’s side , Jose Gimenez missed, but his teammates Valverde, Bentancur, De Arrascaeta and Ugarte all scored to win 4-2. Andreas Pereira and Martinelli were the two players who successfully took the two penalties for Brazil, but it was not enough to help them advance.

Brazil (left) once again lost to Uruguay

AFP

This is the second consecutive time that Selecao has suffered a bitter defeat against their South American rivals, Uruguay. The last time they lost 0-2 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in October 2023. Above all, the defeat in the quarter-finals of Copa America 2024 caused the “yellow-green” team to continue its crisis, coach Dorival Junior will still have a lot of work to do to help the samba team regain its reputation.

Meanwhile, the Uruguayan team demonstrated its continuous progress under the leadership of coach Marcelo Bielsa, when advancing to the semi-finals to meet Colombia at 7:00 a.m. on July 11. Thereby, it promises to be the biggest opponent of the defending champion Argentina in the battle for the 2024 Copa America throne.

Previously, the Brazilian team, with the absence of key striker Vinicius (due to a suspension), helped 17-year-old star Endrick have his first appearance in the official lineup. Endrick played as a striker, with the support of seniors Rodrygo, Lucas Paqueta and Raphinha. The Uruguay team still maintained a sublime playing squad in the group stage with 3 wins in all matches.

Endrick started for the first time, but played quite poorly.

AFP

With such a close relationship, both teams started the game very cautiously and tightly. However, Uruguay under coach Marcelo Bielsa showed a style of play that somewhat overwhelmed Brazil in their declining period, when they took the initiative by controlling the ball to create opportunities.

Selecao had to limit their opponents with a pressing style of play. This style of play brought the first half of the match into a tense stalemate, with both teams committing a total of 18 fouls, with Uruguay committing the most (13). As a result, there were very few opportunities created, with Brazil only having 2 chances to hit the goal, while Uruguay had 4, but none of them really threatened goalkeeper Alisson’s goal. La Celeste’s most notable opportunity was striker Darwin Nunez’s header that went over the crossbar despite being in an open position.

Both teams continuously committed fouls.

ESPN

In the second half, the deadlock continued, as both teams played too fiercely and aggressively, causing a series of fouls. The turning point came in the 75th minute, when Uruguay defender Nahitan Nandez received a red card and was sent off for a dangerous kick to Brazil striker Rodrygo. Before that, Argentinian referee Dario Herrera had issued four yellow cards to both teams, with each side receiving two yellow cards.

Uruguay played with one less man for the last 15 minutes, but still kept the score at 0-0 before winning on penalties.

AFP

Playing with one less player, Uruguay had to retreat to defend. Coach Dorival Junior immediately sent in three players, Douglas Luiz, Andreas Pereira and Savio, to replace Paqueta, Joao Gomes and Raphinha to increase the attacking power of the Brazilian team. At the end of the match, Selecao increased the pressure with two fast players, Martinelli and Evanilson (replacing Rodrygo and Bruno Guimaraes).

However, Uruguay’s defence held firm to take the game to penalties before eventually winning 4-2. Brazil were out of the game early, and will have a long way to go before they find their feet again.