A Copa América title contender will see their tournament come to an end on Saturday in the quarter-final as pre-tournament favourites Uruguay and Brazil meet in Las Vegas
By Jon Arnold
Uruguay won Group C with victories in all three games, and only truly looked in danger of dropping points in the group finale against the United States. Even then, they was able to grind out a 1-0 win, scoring from a set piece and relying on a staunch defence to keep a second consecutive clean sheet after having conceded to Panama in the opening group contest.
Uruguay winger Maxi Araújo had to leave the contest against the U.S. after a rough fall that appeared to affect his neck and head. But the Toluca attacker has been cleared to participate in the quarter-final, and manager Marcelo Bielsa may use an unchanged starting lineup. He may be quicker to go to his bench for modifications should Uruguay not be in control of the match, though. Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Betancur, often starting centre-back Sebastián Cáceres and legendary forward Luis Suárez all made only cameos against the U.S. – with the starters carrying out the job more than well enough through three games.
Bielsa’s Brazil counterpart Dorival Junior will be forced into at least one modification, and it’s a significant one. After seeing a yellow card in a 1-1 draw with Colombia that closed out group play and secured the second spot in the group for Brazil, Vinícius Júnior is suspended from this contest.
How to replace him isn’t immediately clear. Savio could slot in as a direct replacement, or 17-year-old forward Endrick could start up top and push Rodrygo to the wing. Fans have been begging to see more of Endrick, both wanting to see the young wunderkind and hoping a fixed forward would allow this Brazil to look more like Brazil sides of old, flowing freely in attack instead of being flustered by teams like Costa Rica in the group stage.
Thus far, goalkeeper Alisson Becker and the centre-back pairing of Éder Militão and Marquinhos have provided stability to the team, but Uruguay forward Darwin Núñez and the wingers will look to make life uncomfortable with Uruguay’s trademark press.
Uruguay will be buoyed not only by their form in the group stage but also having dominated Brazil in a 2-0 World Cup qualification win just nine months ago in Montevideo. Will they be able to repeat the feat or will it be Brazil slipping into the semi-final against the winner of Colombia vs. Panama earlier in the day?
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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