CNN
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Brazil were knocked out of the Copa America in the quarter-finals after losing 4-2 on penalties to Uruguay on Saturday.
The score was 0-0 after 90 minutes and, with no extra time in this tournament, the Uruguayans had to go straight to penalties where they held their nerve to beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties.
Although there were no goals in the match, there were a total of 41 fouls in the hard-fought match with four yellow cards and then a red card shown to Uruguayan Nahitan Nández.
Nández was sent off near the end of the match after a foul on Rodrygo. The Uruguayan hit the Brazilian winger with an ankle tackle and was sent off after a VAR check.
Reduced to ten men, Uruguay held firm and led the game until penalties loomed on the horizon.
Uruguay immediately took the lead in the penalty shootout when Federico Valverde sent The CelestialBrazil’s first penalty – followed by Éder Militão failing to score Brazil’s first penalty, which was saved by goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.
Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz then hit the post with Brazil’s third penalty and Uruguay were firmly in control, leading 3-1.
Despite Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker giving fans hope by saving José María Giménez’s penalty, it was too little, too late as Uruguay’s Manuel Ugarte calmly sent Alisson the wrong way to seal his side’s place in the last four.
“It was a very tense match, against a very tough opponent, who suffered in the last minutes from a numerical inferiority. But we showed character despite our youth,” Rochet said after the match, according to Reuters.
“To finish with penalties and win, I was able to stop one… The truth is that it is an immense joy that this group deserves, the country deserves it. We are very enthusiastic, so we will do more.”
Talented Brazilian Endrick, 17, started the match but was unable to help his team qualify for the next round.
“We want to put Brazil at the top, we will continue to work and prepare for the World Cup qualifiers,” Endrick said, according to Reuters.
“We know this is a difficult time, but we hope to have the support of all Brazilians.”
