LAS VEGAS — Brazil coach Dorival Junior said he takes “full responsibility” for his team's disappointing exit in the quarterfinals of the Copa America after losing 4-2 on penalties to 10-man Uruguay on Saturday.
“This type of job requires a lot of patience,” said Dorival, who took over in January, after the loss at Allegiant Stadium.
“I have to admit that these were not the results we expected and I take full responsibility for them, but I also believe that this team has a lot of room to grow, evolve and improve.”
Despite having a man advantage after a red card for Uruguay's Nahitan Nandez in the 74th minute, Brazil were unable to break the deadlock and the tight match, featuring a tournament-record 41 fouls, ended 0-0 after 90 minutes and went to penalties.
In the penalty shootout, Éder Militão and Douglas Luiz failed to score for Brazil, while Alisson Becker denied Uruguay defender José María Giménez a goal. However, Manuel Ugarte converted the winning penalty to send Uruguay into the quarter-finals and Brazil to an early elimination.
Brazil return home after earning just one win in the group stage before being beaten by Uruguay in the first knockout round.
The result also represents a setback for the Brazilians, who were finalists (2021) and champions (2019) in the two previous editions of the Cup.
“It's a process; you usually encounter difficulties when you're building a team,” said Dorival, whose team was without the suspended Vinícius Júnior in the quarterfinals.
“This was our first official tournament and the result was far from what we expected… our main objective now is to qualify for the World Cup.”
Dorival, who have just eight games under their belt, defended their players after they recently concluded their club campaigns ahead of the competition.
“A lot of them joined us after long seasons,” Dorival said. “Considering what we saw in training sessions and every day, I think we can still grow as a team… a lot of people might not understand it, that's how it is when you're building a team from scratch. There are ups and downs in football.”
It is the second consecutive defeat for the Selection against Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay after being beaten 2-0 in October's World Cup qualifier, during which Brazilian star Neymar tore his left anterior cruciate ligament.
While Bielsa is renowned for his high-pressing football, the Uruguay coach was asked if Saturday's win was more reflective of the “Uruguayan style”, having had to play more defensively with a man less.
“Everything that happens, happens in the Uruguayan style,” Bielsa said. “It was a game with very few scoring opportunities… when we were down to one man we decided to focus on defending in our own half. But yes, we didn't have many scoring opportunities in the second half.”
With the win, Uruguay continued its unbeaten run in the Cup and maintained its upward trajectory under Bielsa since his hiring in May 2023.
Despite Uruguay's 15 Copa America titles, tied with Argentina for the most, this is the first time Uruguay has reached the semi-finals since its most recent championship in 2011.
On Wednesday they will face Colombia, with a place in the final at stake. However, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to count on defenders Matías Viña and Ronald Araújo, who were forced to leave the match against Brazil due to injuries.
“In Viña's case it was not a muscle injury, but there was a level of wear and tear,” said Bielsa.
“Araújo, there is a muscle injury, I think it will be confirmed tomorrow or after the corresponding medical examination.”
On the other side of the draw, Argentina will face Canada in a semi-final on Tuesday.
The Copa America final will be played on July 14 in Miami Gardens, Florida.
