By Braden Chalker
A penalty shootout decided who would join Canada, Argentina and Colombia in the Copa America semi-finals, as Uruguay narrowly defeated Brazil to reach the last four of the tournament.
Two of the best footballing nations on the planet went head-to-head to decided who would join Argentina, Canada and Colombia in the Copa America semi-finals.
Despite the magnitude of the game taking place at Allegiant Stadium, the first half didn't have much to offer outside of one chance for each side. Raphinha came to close to opening the score before Sergio Rochet denied the Barcelona forward from close range, while Darwin Nunez squandered a huge chance in front of goal with a missed header.
The first half was full of both teams canceling each other out through foul after foul, and the second half was more of the same -- with a red card shown to Uruguay's Nahitan Nandez.
Neither side were able to find the breakthrough through 90 minutes, and Uruguay advanced 4-1 on penalty kicks to reach the Copa America semi-finals. La Celeste will take on Colombia with a trip to the final on the line, where the winner of that match could take on either Argentina or Canada.
Sergio Rochet managed to keep out Eder Militao's penalty to put Uruguay in good spirits to begin the shootout before Manuel Ugarte finished things off with the winning attempt. While Marcelo Bielsa's is more than likely safe, Dorival Junior could be shown the exit after a poor campaign from Brazil.
Uruguay player ratings ( 4-3-3 )
GK: Sergio Rochet - 8/10 - A bystander for most of the game outside of a massive one-on-one save to deny Raphinha in the first half. Came up huge to manage a save on Militao's penalty attempt during the shootout.
RB: Nahitan Nandez - 5/10 \- Solid going forward and tracking back as he saved a sure-fire goal after a horrid back-pass from Vina. Didn't help his side at all after getting sent off for a rash challenge on Rodrygo.
CB: Ronald Araujo - 6/10 \- The Barcelona defender started off slow and was finding his groove in defense before he was forced off due to injury.
CB: Mathias Olivera - 7/10 - Solid overall. Wasn't called to action much as there weren't too many genuine chances during the match.
LB: Matias Vina - 6/10 - Nearly gave Brazil the lead in the first 45 after a shocking pass back to Rochet but thankfully Nandez stepped in.
CM: Federico Valverde - 7/10 - It was another strong display in the middle of the park from the Real Madrid figure.
CM: Nicolas de la Cruz - 6/10 - Just wasn't able to get things going in the final third.
CM: Manuel Ugarte - 7/10 - Helped anchor the midfield alongside Valverde to keep the Brazil attack at bay. Remained calm and finished his penalty attempt with ease to send Uruguay to the semi-finals.
RW: Facundo Pellistri - 6/10 - Limited impact on the right-wing from the Manchester United player. He just wasn't able to create much of an attacking threat like the rest of the Uruguay attack.
ST: Darwin Nunez - 6/10 - Made a few good runs through the middle of the pitch but failed to put his team up early on with a missed headed effort from close range.
LW: Maximiliano Araujo - 6/10 - Essentially invisible throughout the first half. Didn't really improve much in the second 45.
Substitutes
SUB: Jose Gimenez (33' for Araujo) - 5/10 - Fine when defending but a bit shaky when he looked to pass to a teammate.
SUB: Sebastian Caceres (46' for Vina) - 6/10 - Helped stabilize the backline alongside Gimenez and Olivera.
SUB: Rodrigo Bentancur (66' for de la Cruz) - 7/10 - Turned things up a notch in the midfield when he came on.
SUB: Giorgian De Arrascaeta (78' for Pellistri) - N/A
SUB: Guillermo Varela (78' for Nunez) - N/A
Manager
Marcelo Bielsa - 7/10 - It wasn't the most beautiful game of football by any means, but it was enough for Uruguay to keep their Copa America dreams alive and advance in Bielsa's first tournament as head coach. His substitutes were just about spot on as two of three players brought on converted their penalty attempts to play their part in the win.
Player of the match - Sergio Rochet (Uruguay)
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Uruguay 0-0 Brazil: Player ratings as La Celeste advance to Copa America semi-finals on penalty kicks.
