Uruguay stun Brazil; face Colombia in semi-finals

Uruguay beat Brazil on penalties 42 to reach the semifinals of Copa America after an ugly game ended goalless on SaturdayUruguay who finished the game with ten men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off in the 74th minute will face Colombia in Charlotte North Carolina in their semifinal on Wednesday atOptions key d0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7 format iframe height 90 width 728 params Panama beaten 50Colombia now unbeaten in 27 games beat Panama 50 in Saturdayrsquos other quarterfinal earlier in Arizona The other semifinal in New Jersey on Tuesday will see world champions Argentina face surprise package CanadaFor fivetimes world champions Brazil it was a disappointing early end to a tournament in which they never truly clicked and a lot of work remains to be done if Dorival Juniorrsquos team are to be in shape to compete for the title in the 2026 World CupIn a city better known for boxing than for the beautiful game it was a bruising contest with little quality play and a tournament high 41 fouls The first and best chance of a game of few opportunities came in the 35th minute when Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez had a clear header in front of goal but mistimed his effort which flew wide off his shoulderWithin moments Brazil created an opening of their own with Raphinha breaking clear but Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet stayed tall and made a vital save Brazil resorted too often to long balls forward but with only their 17yearold talent Endrick in for the suspended Vinicius Junior as a central striker they lacked the physical presence to make that approach effectiveThe game deteriorated the longer it went on with foul after foul not deterred by lenient refereeing But Uruguayrsquos hopes of wearing Brazil down were dealt a blow when Nandez hacked down Rodrygo with a dangerous slide into his ankle and after a VAR review the defender was sent offBrazilrsquos Militao missesAfter Federico Valverde scored with the first spot kick Eder Militao saw his effort saved by the diving Rochet When Douglas Luiz hit the post for Brazil they trailed 31 and Jose Gimenez had the chance to clinch the game for Uruguay His effort was superbly saved by Alisson Becker Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored to keep Brazil alive but midfielder Manuel Ugarte kept his cool to drive home the decisive kick and send the 15times Copa champions into the last fourThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever atOptions key d0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7 format iframe height 90 width 728 params