Uruguay beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties Saturday evening to seal its place within the Copa America semifinals and get rid of the Selecao from the event. It was Uruguay’s first Copa win over Brazil in practically three many years.
Uruguay and Brazil share a heated rivalry, and the sport stats mirrored that: it featured 41 fouls, sufficient for an all-time Copa report. However it was Uruguay who toughed it out and secured the victory, even after taking place to 10 males in the midst of the second half.
On the floor, Brazil’s penalty loss seems to be like some other event disappointment: a closely-run recreation that did not wind up going its manner. However the statistics behind Brazil’s defeat present that the Selecao have an immense quantity of labor to do in the event that they hope to be aggressive in time for the 2026 World Cup. The crew is poor in a number of key areas, and squads like Uruguay are taking discover.
The children aren’t prepared. Brazil’s 17-year-old phenom Endrick is cherished by many because the “subsequent massive factor,” however his efficiency towards Uruguay proved that he is acquired plenty of studying do to earlier than he is prepared for a starring position within the nationwide crew. Endrick was barreled over by Uruguay’s powerful central defenders all match and struggled to make any type of impression. Think about this statistic: in 90 minutes on the sector, Endrick accomplished only one go — and it was the primary kick of the sport. Not nice for a beginning quantity 9.
Nobody is transferring the ball ahead. Fast: in the event you needed to guess which Brazilian gamers accomplished probably the most passes towards Uruguay, who would you select? Raphinha, perhaps, from his spot on the wing? Lucas Paqueta from the middle of midfield? Nope. The overwhelming winner was central defender Marquinhos with 76, adopted by fellow defender Guilherme Arana with 49 and goalkeeper Alisson with 47. Marquinhos managed practically double the passes of Brazil’s most concerned midfielders — and he hardly ever stepped out of his personal half. Brazil merely could not get the ball ahead and spent lengthy stretches of the sport pinging it round its personal penalty field as a substitute.
The attackers aren’t firing off photographs like they used to. Brazil was with out Vinicius Junior in its quarterfinal towards Uruguay, but it surely fielded his Actual Madrid teammate, Rodrygo, up prime alongside Raphinha and Endrick. These three are greater than able to knocking in targets, however towards Uruguay, they weren’t even capable of knock in photographs. The trio managed simply six photographs between them in 90 minutes, and solely two of these six had been heading in the right direction.
Evaluate that to Brazil’s final Copa America knockout look in 2021, which featured many of those identical gamers. In its semifinal towards Peru, Brazil managed 15 photographs; within the remaining, a tense, tight match versus Argentina, it managed 13.
The Brazilian nationwide crew does not have a lot time earlier than the 2026 World Cup. With European nations like Spain rising spectacularly in latest months (and South American nations like Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia climbing, too), Brazil is way from the highest canine within the sport. This Copa America loss is not simply unhealthy luck: it is a signal that issues merely aren’t working beneath the crew’s hood.