Uruguay Aims To Halt Argentina's Reign In Copa America, Faces Brazil Next

Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay is seen as the main threat to Argentina's Copa America title defence, according to Sergio Aguero. However, Uruguay must first face Brazil, who have won the Copa America nine times. Uruguay topped Group C with nine points and scored nine goals in their three matches, three more than any other team in the tournament.

Brazil finished second in Group D behind Colombia, drawing two matches and winning one. This result means they now face a challenging quarter-final against Uruguay. The match will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Uruguay's goalkeeper, Sergio Rochet, has been impressive, keeping clean sheets in six of his last seven matches across all competitions. The only team to score against him during this period was Panama in a 3-1 victory for Uruguay during the group stage.

Aguero believes that Uruguay, under Bielsa's guidance, are well-equipped to challenge Argentina. "I think Uruguay have a lot to give now with Bielsa. They should go far in the tournament," Aguero said in an interview with Stake.com. "I think Argentina are their own biggest threat, and we shouldn't be overconfident. But Uruguay are the only team that could beat us because Bielsa knows Lionel Scaloni very well."

Brazil will be without their star player Vinicius Junior due to suspension. Vinicius has been Brazil's top scorer in the tournament with two goals from their 4-1 win over Paraguay on Matchday 2. "Vini is a top player who can win games for us," said Brazil defender Danilo. "But we have other players with a lot of quality and potential, and let's try to make up for Vini's absence."

In Vinicius' absence, Raphinha will be crucial for Brazil. He scored in their 1-1 draw with Colombia and attempted six dribbles, completing three of them—both team highs. His direct free-kick goal was Brazil’s first since 2019.

Historical Context

This will be the first knockout meeting between Brazil and Uruguay at the Copa America since the 2007 semi-finals when Brazil won on penalties and went on to become champions. Historically, Brazil has never lost a knockout match against Uruguay in this competition.

Uruguay has lost only one of their ten quarter-final matches at the Copa America since this round was introduced in 1993 (W4 D5). Half of these games were decided by penalty shootouts, with Uruguay winning two of those.

Match Prediction

The Opta supercomputer predicts a tight contest between these sides, suggesting another penalty shootout might be on the cards. Both teams have not fallen behind at any point during this tournament so far.

The probability of each outcome according to Opta is: Uruguay - 35.6%, Brazil - 37.4%, Draw - 27%. Given both teams' strong performances so far, it is expected to be a closely fought match.

Bielsa's team also achieved a significant milestone by winning all available points in the group stage for the first time since 1942 when they won all six matches and were crowned champions.

The upcoming match promises to be an exciting encounter as both teams aim to progress further in the tournament while maintaining their unbeaten records.