Uruguay, in Marcelo Bielsa’s inaugural tournament as head coach, managed to edge Brazil in a penalty shootout and advance. Nahitan Nandez was sent off during an aggressive game, but South Americans kept their composure and held on.
Alisson made one penalty save, looked good overall and attempted an effective back pass despite an embarrassing misfire with another back pass from Matias Vina; otherwise he displayed good execution throughout.
Team Player Ratings
Here we talk about Uruguay National Football Team Vs Brazil National Football Team Player Ratings, Uruguay dominated the first half and created numerous good chances, yet were unable to capitalize. They then had to play on their backfoot for most of the second half and could not break through Brazil’s press; further hindered by poor touches and heavy challenges from both teams.
Eder Militao showed some excellent defensive work and made some key tackles, while still giving away possession cheaply at times. Unfortunately, his penalty shotout effort went astray as well; Marquinhos struggled to control the game due to Darwin Nunez’s quick movement.
Nahitan Nandez was sent off after lunging with his studs-up at Rodrygo and making contact with his ankle, drawing a yellow card at first before VAR confirmed it as an aggressive challenge and sentencing took effect.
Cristian Pulisic displayed some energy and excellent passing in his first appearance for Uruguay, but didn’t create many significant chances. On a breakaway in the second half, however, he should have scored but instead shot wide of goal.
Uruguay National Team
Uruguay was victorious at both of FIFA’s initial senior world tournaments – Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928 – as well as in 1948 Olympic football tournament held by host Argentina; winning all games they participated in both competitions by replay of final matchup against host nation Argentina for both titles.
Early in the game, the United Soccer Men’s National Team ran themselves ragged with fatigue, prompting Uruguay defenders to make impressive individual plays that kept their Americans at bay. But after an exciting start with several lengthy delays for treatment on both players, play eventually subsided into more defensive oriented action.
As time wound down, Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace earned himself a red card after injuring Manuel Ugarte of Uruguay. That took away one of their best chances to score and was an unfortunate turn of events for Berhalter’s side; nevertheless, USA did create several chances late as they pressed for an equalizer; which caused some anxious moments for Uruguayan goalkeeper but in the end held on for penalty shootout victory.
Brazil National Team
Uruguay has experienced some mixed results since reaching the 2010 World Cup semifinals, but remains an outstanding team. Uruguay boasts players in Europe’s premier leagues such as Rodrigo Bentancur, Diego Rossi and Nicolas de la Cruz; these three have proven they can battle through stronger opponents to emerge victorious.
Christian Pulisic provided plenty of spark and made some impressive plays during his first appearance against Brazil. He won the free kick that led to USA’s equalizer and nearly scored, only for Alisson to save it with an outstanding save. Furthermore, Pulisic provided Brenden Aaronson with an opportunity that unfortunately went begging.
RB Danilo had limited impact, struggling to press the ball while his distribution was poor in the final third. Nonetheless, he worked well alongside Marquinhos at the back and managed to keep a clean sheet. Meanwhile LB Wendell was impressive defensively while providing some effective crosses into the box; finally CM Paqueta provided excellent link play between Guimaraes and Rodrygo in midfield.
Highlights
Players in this chippy match-up were almost swinging at each other. Ronald Araujo made contact with Endrick’s face with an elbow strike, prompting Tim Ream to intercept it as it came flying towards goal and take it away – both players received yellow cards as a result of this altercation.
First half was an evenly-contested affair, with both teams creating chances. Raphinha had one chance for Brazil and Facundo Pellistri didn’t connect on his shot from Uruguay’s side; Nahitan Nandez was shown red late in the second half, leaving only 10 men available for them.
Although physical, the game was also relatively technical. USMNT midfielder Darren McKennie struggled, winning only two of 12 duels and failing to create any scoring opportunities or create anything of his own for Brazil. Fulham defender Michael Robinson proved a tough opponent for Uruguayans as he took plenty of risks and caused 19 turnovers during a 19 turnover game that ultimately Uruguay won 4-2 on penalties; Eder Militao and Douglas Luiz missed Brazil penalties while Manuel Ugarte scored the winning penalty goal for Uruguayans while Eder Militao and Douglas Luiz both missed Brazilian penalties during their shootout; Manuel Ugarte scored his winning penalty penalty to seal victory!
Final Words
Brazil did well to mitigate Uruguay’s energetic attack. Yet they are no longer the same team which Andreas Pereira wrote on the eve of this match that they “dream of having Uruguay’s team”.
At Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, reportedly watched by over 173,850 fans (some estimate over 200k), two goals were scored in an event attended by approximately 173,850. Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalised for Uruguay midway through the second half and Alcides Ghiggia completed their comeback 11 minutes before its conclusion.
As neither side deserved a goal in open play, only a penalty shootout could decide the result of this quarterfinal matchup. There was some pushing and shoving in the centre circle prior to starting and Nahitan Nandez was shown red for his tackle on Rodrygo; then Brazil’s Eder Militao took his initial kick but saw his effort saved by Sergio Rochet; Douglas Luiz and Jose Maria Gimenez missed their shots before Manuel Ugarte scored Uruguay’s winning penalty and secured Uruguay victory; another matchup will take place Sunday at Estadio Nacional de Montevideo before
