Colombia and Uruguay to Copa America semifinals
Havana, Jul 7 (JIT) - Uruguay left Brazil on the road and advanced to the semifinals of the Copa America 2024 in the United States.
Bielsa's team left no room for the samba, and without the smile of Vinicius it was very difficult for the Verdeamarelha to convince that they still play with joy, except for Raphinha, who showed flashes of talent until he faded away.
Endrick, Vini's replacement, barely left postcards of the good player he will be one day, and as a nine only showed his shirt when he had the opportunity to face Rochet and decided to leave the ball to the Barcelona striker.
The Brazilian midfield ran more than it touched, largely because of the high pressure that Marcelo Bielsa set up to cut off the oxygen to the Brazilians, because he knows that they feel better on the beach than in a poor neighborhood and narrow streets in Montevideo.
Some puritan, false admirer of the madman, will think that he betrayed him by abandoning the style and treatment of the ball, but the experienced coach knows that the victory against an opponent of Brazil's entity, in the quarterfinals of a major tournament, justifies some licenses even if the rest of us do not like the show.
The expected goal duel ended in a Kung Fu duel: they accumulated a whopping 40 fouls, one every 2 minutes, all in front of the passive gaze of the Argentine referee, who needed the help of the VAR to send off Nahitan Nández, after almost ending up with Rodrygo's ankle.
The scratch could not take advantage of the superiority, and the Charrúas managed to neutralize, with grit more than soccer, any attempt to approach danger to their goal.
Fortunately, extra time is not played in the Copa América, because there could have been a carnage without a goal.
In the penalties, Rochet stopped Militao and Douglas Luis missed, which left the ticket to the "semis" to the sky-blue team, Dorival has many things to fix before the World Cup, in his slate and in his team.
Earlier, Colombia secured their pass with a delightful show, in which goals poured in at the expense of a Panama team that left this tournament leaving a good image, despite the last result.
That James Rodriguez leads the Colombians is not surprising, but his ability was discussed by some who watched in amazement at the personalization of the curious case of Benjamin Button.
A rejuvenated captain shone on the field with two assists and a goal from the penalty spot, all in 70 minutes of playing time. He looked sharp, effective. He showed off one of the most educated left legs in America.
The 5-0 scoreline showed Colombia's forcefulness in their feast against the Canaleros, who were not overwhelmed, and even had chances to score.
Córdoba (7'), Luis Díaz (40'), Richard Rios (69') and Miguel Borja, from the penalty spot in the 93', accompanied James in the massacre after which Néstor Lorenzo's team became one of the candidates to lift the title, with only four left.
