WARRIOR POET: Facundo Pellistri had a ‘struggle’ performance against Brazil when Man Utd star only had 4/8 passes but even had NINE duels won in Uruguay’s victory.
The Uruguayans have a rich history in the competition and continued adding to it with an impressive victory where they played with ten men since the 74th minute, including all of extra time.
In a performance full of determination and grit they only had 40% of the ball but held the Brazilians largely at bay as the result finished 0-0 after 120 minutes.
They had 12 shots to Brazil’s seven but only one on target, as Darwin Nunez missed a gilt-edged chance as he saw a free header in the first half sail over the bar.
Pellistri had one of his quieter nights in what has been an impressive tournament so far, where he has scored and assisted a goal.
The 22 year old, who spent last season on loan at Granada, was given a score of 6.7 from Sofascore.
He played 78 minutes of the match but was subbed off shortly after Nahitan Nandez was shown a red card and La Celeste had to change their set up.
He was only able to have 30 touches in the match and completed a paltry four passes out of eight attempts.
Naturally, he had no key passes as he was on the ball so little and neither of his two crosses found their intended target.
The young winger also failed to have any shots on or off the target on a frustrating night on a personal level.
He did try and take on the Brazilian defence and completed two out of his five dribble attempts. He was also quite wasteful on the ball, giving it away 13 times during the entirety of the match.
The youngster did contribute defensively however for his side as he made one clearance and five successful tackles.
He also won eight out of his 15 ground duels and one of his two aerial battles.
Manchester United transfer target Manuel Ugarte was the hero as he slotted in Uruguay’s final penalty in the shootout, after Brazil had missed two of theirs.
Uruguay’s continued involvement in the tournament will likely delay any progress on a deal for the defensive midfielder until after the middle of July.
In order to play Argentina or Canada in the championship match, La Celeste will now play Colombia in the semifinals on Wednesday night (Thursday early UK time). One or more United players will begin their summer vacation with the Copa America trophy in their hands as supporters of the team hope Uruguay can advance to face Lisandro Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho’s Argentina.
