Jesus knows best

Brazilu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring his teamu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s opening goal against Argentina in the Copa America semi-final on Tuesday. Pic /Getty Images

Belo Horizonte (Brazil): Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus said after his match-winning display in Tuesday's 2-0 Copa America semi-final victory over Argentina that he'd had a premonition he would score.

Jesus, 22, opened the scoring on 19 minutes from a Roberto Firmino pass and then 19 minutes from time reversed the favor as Brazil qualified for their first Copa America final since 2007.

"I felt I would score. I'm not saying that because I scored. Other times I didn't say this," said the Manchester City forward. "I was very confident... and I managed to score in a great team performance. Firmino set me up really well. I'm delighted, not for the goal but for the team... We scored the goals, we're all delighted about the match, about the commitment, about the performance.

"We have to play every match with this spirit." Brazil coach Tite paid tribute to Jesus's hard work, particularly given he'd been on a frustrating run that had seen him fail to score in Brazil's previous four matches, including the 5-0 thrashing of Peru where he missed a penalty. Gabriel impresses all the professionals that work with him because he never gives up," said Tite.

"People tell him 'you just have to put up with the pain and run,' and that's what I asked him to do. He has to refine his solutions and he has to evolve because he's young, but if I ask him to shoot 50 times, he'll do 51. This capacity of persistence and his quest for something is his trademark."

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