Defending Copa America champions Brazil on Friday defended strongly with 10 men to advance to the semi-finals with a 1-0 win against Chile.
Substitute Lucas Paqueta scored the only goal of the match only seconds before Gabriel Jesus was sent off early in the second half.
Paqueta’s winner to the left corner of Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the 46th minute gave Brazil fans some hope that the Selecao would ease into the next stage, but only two minutes later, Jesus was sent off after hitting Chile’s Eugenio Mena with a flying kick.
Photo: Reuters
Neymar and Brazil coach Tite said after the match that Jesus did not see Mena and accidentally kicked him as he tried to recover possession in the midfield.
Brazil worked so hard defensively that Chile had fewer shots on goal after Jesus was sent off than during the time he played; two against three.
“Defending well is a characteristic of ours,” Brazil’s Thiago Silva said. “Regardless of what we did today we concede few goals. Ever down to 10 we created clear opportunities. I am very proud of this team, for its fighting spirit.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal blamed the Argentine referee for his side’s elimination.
“We’re very sad, we deserved a lot more,” Vidal said. “In a game like this, you need a referee who wears the trousers, who is fair and who doesn’t want to be the match clown.”
“We just lacked that goal. If there’s a referee that won’t let you play, that stops the game all the time, and he thinks he is the star of the show, then it’s very difficult, but we were beaten by the favorites, the team playing at home,” Vidal said. “At least we will leave with our heads held high.”
Photo: AFP
Peru advanced to the semi-finals after beating Paraguay on penalties 4-3, with the score 3-3 in regular time.
Brazil and Peru played the previous Copa America final in 2019, with the hosts winning 3-1. Jesus was also sent off in that match at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Today’s encounter is to be at the same Nilton Santos Stadium where Brazil beat Chile.
The hard-fought match at the Olimpico Stadium in Goiania included red cards to key players of both teams and two goals by Italian-born Gianluca Lapadula for Peru.
The decisive moment in the quarter-final came after Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese stopped Alberto Espinola in the shootout.
Miguel Trauco converted his shot to put Peru back in contention.
Daniel Martinez and Braian Samudio had also missed for Paraguay. Santiago Ormeno and Christian Cueva were stopped by Paraguay’s Antony Silva.
“This was an amazing match,” Lapadula said after the shootout, in which he converted from the spot.
“We can’t choose adversaries, we have to think we are in the semi-final. Now we have to work to get there well,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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