Uruguay reached the Copa America semi-finals with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Brazil following a feisty 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 a post at Allegiant Stadium......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>
Both sides struggled to create chances during normal time and Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay ended the match with 10 men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off.
They will face Colombia, who thrashed Panama 5-0 earlier on Saturday, on Wednesday (01:00 BST, Thursday) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“It was a very tense match, against a very tough opponent, suffering in the last minutes a man down. But we showed character despite our youth,” said Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.
“The truth is that it is a tremendous happiness that this group deserves. The country deserves it.
“We are very excited, so we are going for more.”
In a match featuring 41 fouls, both sides struggled for fluency.
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez headed Uruguay’s best chance over the crossbar from close range.
Moments later Raphinha was denied by Rochet after a rapid Brazil rapid counter-attack.
Nandez was shown a yellow card in the the 74th minute for a heavy tackle on Rodrygo, but it was upgraded to red following a video assistant referee review.
Uruguay defended in numbers for the remainder of the 90 minutes, with the match going straight to penalties without extra time.
In the other quarter-final, James Rodriguez scored one goal and set up two 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 scored with 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 Colombia display.
Argentina, the defending champions, meet Canada in the first semi-final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday (01:00 BST, Wednesday).
