It was a match where skill and scoring gave way to brazen brutality.
A combined four yellow cards and one red card may not have been enough in a match where there were 41 fouls shared between Uruguay and Brazil.
Neither side played well enough to deserve a goal in regular time, and for the third time in the Copa America quarterfinals, the match went to penalties.
But one team had to win, and that team was Uruguay – who reach the final four for the first time since 2011.
It sets up a semifinal matchup with Colombia in Charlotte, North Carolina for the chance to fight for the title.
An astounding 41 fouls were called in a match that boiled over between Uruguay and Brazil
It included four yellow cards and this red card foul that saw Uruguay go down to ten men
Momentum in the first half was heavily in favor of Uruguay – who continued to find space and generated some dangerous moments inside the first 30 minutes.
Uruguay needed to go to their bench early when Ronald Araujo sustained a serious injury and he needed to be replaced. Luckily for La Celeste, they had a ready replacement in Jose Maria Gimenez.
Possession at the half was even, but Brazil had generated more big chances – but none of them were successful. That continued into the first ten minutes of the second half – with shots flying high, errors being made, and miscommunication rife within both teams.
This was not Jogo Bonito in action, rather it seemed more like ‘Twilight Zone football’ – where physical challenges and attempts to injure took precedent over actually playing the game.
Much hype was made about the inclusion of 17-year-old Endrick in the starting lineup. Earlier this tournament, he became the youngest player to take the field for the Selecao at the Copa America since 2011. But after an hour had gone, the Real Madrid-bound forward had failed to make an impact on the match.
Time and time again, promising moments were cast aside. A Brazilian attack was snuffed out in the 67th minute when Uruguay’s defense swarmed Joao Gomez and a shot from Lucas Paqueta was blocked. On an ensuing counter attack, a cross from Nahitan Nandez went high and over the end line – another big moment leading to nothing.
Nahitan Nandez argues with referee Dario Herrera after he showed him a red card
The nadir of the ‘Twilight Zone’ portion of the match came when Nandez planted an unnecessarily hard tackle on Rodrygo. A long review from VAR showed that the fullback put in a straight-legged tackle right on the Real Madrid man’s ankle – leading to referee Dario Herrera showing a red card.
With penalties seemingly coming closer, substitutions were made which didn’t owe themselves to penalty takers. Within four minutes, Uruguay had taken off Darwin Nunez for Giorgian De Arrascaeta and Facundo Pellistri for Guillermo Varela while Brazil removed Paqueta for Douglas Luiz and Raphinha for Savio.
This match didn’t deserve a goal in open play. Neither side played well enough to earn themselves one. Only a penalty shootout – the third shootout of these quarterfinals – could decide who advanced.
Even before that got underway, the two teams needed to be separated from fighting each other at the center circle – another display of this rivalry’s brutality.
Round one saw Uruguay’s Federico Valverde slotted his shot into the side netting. Brazil’s Eder Militao hit his kick to the keeper’s left and Uruguay’s Sergio Rochet saved it.
Into round two and Rodrigo Betancur easily put his shot past the diving arms of Alisson while Andreas Pereira sent Rochet the wrong way.
De Arrascaeta started off the third round by roofing his shot with a thunderous strike. Douglas Luiz, fresh off the bench in the 82nd minute sent his shot to the keeper’s right and off the post.
With the game-winning kick at his feet, Jose Maria Gimenez had his shot saved by a diving Alisson – who pumped his fist in victory. Gabriel Martinelli punched his shot home to keep the Selecao alive.
