Uruguay vs Brazil live updates: 2024 Copa America match team ...

Defending in a narrow shape means teams can isolate their wingers against Brazil’s full-backs, particularly with a quick switch of play.

A holding midfielder who can spray the ball quickly to either flank or a defender who can hit long diagonals, can keep Brazil shuttling across and test their ability to stay compact.

Brazil have been rocked by instability since their World Cup quarter-finals exit 18 months ago.

In the aftermath of Tite’s resignation following that loss on penalties to Croatia, they have appointed two interim coaches and drafted in an emergency third, initially hesitant to commit to a long-term hire with their fruitless pursuit of Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti in mind.

At the height of the confusion late last year, Fernando Diniz was juggling two jobs with the national team and top domestic side Fluminense, unable to implement his radical ideas during a temporary spell that saw Brazil fall to three consecutive defeats for the first time in 22 years.

The federation finally acted with conviction in January, turning to experience with the permanent appointment of Dorival Junior.

Some have jokingly referred to his style as “feijao com arroz”— as simple as Brazil’s staple dish of rice and beans — but the 62-year-old has earned his chance, famously leading a star-studded Flamengo side, a squad that many had tried and failed to manage before, to the 2022 Copa Libertadores title. And Brazil have started this tournament in solid form, if not spectacular.

As we saw during Marcelo Bielsa’s stint with Leeds United, his bold out-of-possession approach can leave space to attack if the press is not perfect. His final Premier League game in charge, a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham in February 2022, saw his side reach 60 goals conceded after just 26 games.

Uruguay will mark man-to-man, usually doubling up on the opposition striker, as below. That always leaves a spare man, usually a centre-back, who can cause havoc if they are confident enough to stride into midfield.

Swirling movement can pull Uruguay all over the pitch, but with the physicality of their players, you also need quick-thinking and bravery to capitalise on any moments of uncertainty.

Uruguay is South America’s second-smallest country, sandwiched right between its two biggest. But after an emphatic start to the Marcelo Bielsa era, recording consecutive wins over Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifying, it is a nation riveted with the belief that it can secure a record 16th continental crown.

Bielsa’s appointment last May — a manager nicknamed El Loco for his obsessive preparation and fearless tactical approach — is momentous for more reasons than one. This will be Uruguay’s first Copa America campaign without veteran manager Oscar Tabarez in two decades, while his eccentric successor is just the second foreign coach in their history. He is Argentinian —who are neighbours, rivals, and the other nation that holds 15 Copa America titles going into this year’s competition.

Narrative aside, Bielsa’s intense methods look like they gel with a spirited group of players, already fizzing with the energy and desire required to implement his aggressive system.

Uruguay are international football’s perennial overachievers, consistently performing well in tournaments despite a population of only around 3.5 million.

They won the tournament’s first edition on their way to collecting six of the first nine and 15 in total, a record they share with Argentina.

Like Uruguay, Argentina had most of their success before the tournament changed its name from the South American Football Championship in 1975, winning 12 of their 15 trophies before 1960. In 2021, however, they got their hands on the trophy again, inspired by Messi, who was seven when Argentina previously won the competition in 1993.

Over the past three decades, Brazil have been the dominant team in South America, collecting five of their nine trophies since ending a 40-year drought in 1989. They were back-to-back winners in 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2007, off the back of a golden generation of Brazilian talent, including Ballon d’Or winners Ronaldo (not the superstar from Portugal), Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka.

Chile had a golden spell in the mid-2010s, winning back-to-back trophies in 2015 and 2016, the only two wins in their history. Paraguay and Peru have also won it a couple of times, and Bolivia and Colombia have one each, both winning as host nations.

Other than 2016 and this year, Copa America has only ever been held in South America.

In 1984, CONMEBOL, football’s governing body in South America, began rotating the right to host the tournament among its members, with the first rotation culminating in 2007 in Venezuela.

The second rotation began in 2011, but hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics proved too much for Brazil, which was scheduled to host Copa America in 2015. Chile eventually hosted that tournament, and Brazil took the responsibility in 2019 and 2021.

Argentina has hosted more editions than any other country (nine times), most recently in 2011. Paraguay, Colombia and Venezuela are the only CONMEBOL nations that have not hosted it more than once.

The last time the Copa America was held Stateside was in 2016 for Copa America ‘Centenario’, the tournament’s 100th anniversary.

Though that tournament ended badly for Lionel Messi, losing out on a first senior international trophy in a penalty shootout to Chile, it provided the iconic moment where he endeared himself to the people of Argentina by breaking down in tears on the pitch.

He’s since added a World Cup and a Copa America to his trophy cabinet, so don’t bet on those theatrics again.

This year, the final will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, home of the Miami Dolphins. It will be one of 14 stadiums used for the tournament across 12 cities: East Rutherford, Orlando, Charlotte, Atlanta, Kansas City, Arlington, Houston, Austin, Glendale, Las Vegas, Inglewood and Santa Clara.

It is vanishingly rare for the side known as the Selecao (the selection) to arrive at a tournament without a big, looming cloud of obligation in tow. Brazilian fans can be exceptionally demanding, and not always — not even often — in a manner that benefits their team.

Against that backdrop, the run-up to this Copa America has been refreshingly breezy. With no Neymar, no Casemiro and no Thiago Silva, this is not just a younger, fresher squad; it is also one with fewer bad memories, less psychological scar tissue, less accumulated trauma. There is a levity to the mood, among players and fans alike.

Dorival deserves huge credit for this. He will also be well aware that the momentum can shift in a fraction of a second — and that tournament football has its own internal gravity. Should Brazil win today they will then be expected to go on and win the whole thing.

Brazil have staggering quality and depth in the wing department. Most obviously, there is Vinicius Junior, who appears ready to make this side his own after slowly emerging from the shadow of the injured Neymar at international level. His relationship with fellow Real Madrid man Rodrygo, who loves to drift over and join him on the left flank, will be critical to Brazil’s hopes this summer.

They are backed up by four further options: Raphinha, Gabriel Martinelli, Pepe and Savio. The latter, a left-footed flyer who can play on either side, is a new face in the squad but an exciting one. If his form on loan at Spanish side Girona last season is anything to go by, he will be an explosive trump card off the bench.

It’s lucky Dorival Junior has a reputation as a managerial firefighter, because he walked into a towering inferno when he took the Brazil job in January. He became their third coach since the 2022 World Cup little more than a year earlier — and the third one who wasn’t Carlo Ancelotti, the man the Brazilian federation had been expecting to lead the team at this Copa America and beyond.

On the pitch, performances had been poor, and results even worse: Brazil lost three of their first six World Cup qualifiers, leaving them sixth in the 10-team South American group, below Venezuela and also Ecuador, who started the campaign on minus three points. Dorival inherited a team low on confidence and devoid of direction, lurching along in the dark.

It would be an exaggeration to say that all is now wine and roses, but the outlook has certainly shifted since that low ebb.

When Marcelo Bielsa was hired, the Uruguayan press was nearly unanimously in favor of the decision. Some sectors of the press questioned Bielsa’s methods, and the Argentinian’s nationality was a problem for others. But, generally speaking, Uruguayans felt that Bielsa’s appointment confirmed that they were a heavyweight in global football.

Uruguay are expected to reach the final of this Copa America. They should expect nothing less based on their talent, their footballing culture and the man in charge on the touchline.

In March, Bielsa told reporters he had not had sufficient time to fully install his ideas. He then credited his players for executing his tactics in spite of a congested calendar. “The Uruguayan footballer has unconditional support for their national team, which leads to them prioritizing their country over everything else,” said Bielsa.

And before a pre-Copa America friendly against Mexico on June 5, Bielsa shuttered the idea that Uruguay were favorites to win the competition. “Teams express themselves based on the quality of their players,” Bielsa said. “National-team coaches are testimonial figures who have little influence, both in the good and the bad.”

One should expect nothing less from Bielsa. But if that commitment to the cause can align itself with his ideas, Uruguay may very well be the story of the 2024 Copa America.

This small but talent-rich nation has always produced hard-working players. Add legends such as Luis Suarez, who received a surprise Copa call-up at 37 years old after not being involved in their March friendlies or the two pre-tournament warm-up games, and Edinson Cavani, who announced his retirement from international football last month at the same age, and it’s clear how deep Uruguay’s talent goes, despite the country’s limited resources.

One of Uruguay’s main strengths is their winning mentality, with no game lost until the final whistle. Every challenge is a do-or-die situation.

There are only a few managers at Copa America 2024 that need no introduction.

Marcelo Bielsa is someone who is universally known for his mercurial personality and stubborn tactical philosophy. The 68-year-old, who revolutionized Chile’s national team and became a hero to Leeds United supporters, now holds the keys to one of South America’s most promising squads.

When Bielsa accepted the Uruguay job just over a year ago, he did so knowing that the small country (population: 3.4million; less than Los Angeles) that borders his homeland of Argentina could be on the brink of newfound glory.

A win today would go some way to reinforcing that belief.

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Athletico Paranaense), Rafael (Sao Paulo)

Defenders: Lucas Beraldo (Paris Saint-Germain), Bremer (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Gabriel (Arsenal), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Danilo (Juventus), Yan Couto (Manchester City), Guilherme Arana (Atletico Mineiro), Wendell (Porto)

Midfielders: Andreas Pereira (Fulham), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Joao Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham United), Pepe (Porto), Ederson (Atalanta)

Forwards: Endrick (Palmeiras), Evanilson (Porto), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Savio (Troyes), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)

Goalkeepers: Sergio Rochet (Internacional), Santiago Mele (Atletico Junior), Franco Israel (Sporting Lisbon)

Defenders: Ronald Araujo (Barcelona), Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Marichal (Dinamo Moscow), Matias Vina (Flamengo), Lucas Olaza (Krasnodar), Mathias Olivera (Napoli), Sebastian Caceres (Club America), Guillermo Varela (Flamengo), Nahitan Nandez (Cagliari)

Midfielders: Manuel Ugarte (Paris Saint-Germain), Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Emiliano Martinez (Midtjylland), Nicolas de la Cruz (Flamengo), Giorgian de Arrascaeta (Flamengo)

Forwards: Luis Suarez (Inter Miami), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool), Agustin Canobbio (Athletico Paranaense), Brian Rodriguez (Club America), Brian Ocampo (Cadiz), Facundo Pellistri (Granada, on loan from Manchester United), Maximiliano Araujo (Toluca), Cristian Olivera (LAFC)