Uruguay beat Brazil to reach Copa America semis

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Uruguay reached the Copa America semi-finals with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Brazil following a tense 0-0 draw in Las Vegas.

Manuel Ugarte scored the decisive penalty to send Uruguay through after Eder Militao’s effort was saved and Douglas Luiz hit the post at Allegiant Stadium.

Both teams struggled to create chances during regular time, and Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay finished the match with 10 men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off.

Uruguay will face Colombia, who thrashed Panama 5-0 earlier on Saturday, on Wednesday (01:00 BST, Thursday) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“It was a very tense match against a tough opponent. We suffered in the last minutes being a man down, but we showed character despite our youth,” said Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.

“This group deserves this tremendous happiness. The country deserves it. We are very excited and aiming for more.”

In a match with 41 fouls, both teams struggled for fluency.

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez headed Uruguay’s best chance over the crossbar from close range. Moments later, Raphinha was denied by Rochet after a rapid Brazil counter-attack.

Nandez was shown a yellow card in the 74th minute for a heavy tackle on Rodrygo, which was upgraded to red following a video assistant referee review.

Uruguay defended in numbers for the remainder of the 90 minutes, with the match going straight to penalties without extra time.

In the other quarter-final, James Rodriguez scored one goal and set up two for Colombia at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Jhon Cordoba headed home James’ corner for an early opener before former Real Madrid and Everton forward James scored a penalty.

Liverpool’s Luis Diaz scored with a clever lob from James’ quick free-kick shortly before half-time.

A long-range strike from Richard Rios and Miguel Borja’s penalty capped a convincing Colombia display.

Argentina, the defending champions, will meet Canada in the first semi-final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday (01:00 BST, Wednesday).