Paqueta shines as ten-man Brazil edge Chile 1-0 to set Copa America semis with Peru

Defending Copa America champions Brazil defended strongly with 10 men to advance to the semifinals with a 1-0 win on Friday against Chile. Substitute Lucas Paquetá scored the only goal of the match only seconds before Gabriel Jesus was sent off early in the second half.

Paquetá’s winner to the left corner of Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the 46th minute gave Brazil fans some hope that the Selecao would ease into the next stage. But only two minutes later Jesus was sent off after hitting Chile’s Eugenio Mena with a flying kick.

Neymar and Brazil coach Tite said after the match that Jesus didn’t see Mena and accidentally kicked him as he tried to recover possession in the midfield.

Brazil worked so hard defensively that Chile had fewer shots on goal after Jesus was sent off than during the time he played; two against three.

“Defending well is a characteristic of ours,” Brazil’s Thiago Silva said. “Regardless of what we did today we concede few goals. Ever down to 10 we created clear opportunities. I am very proud of this team, for its fighting spirit.” Paquetá came onto the pitch after a tense first half with few opportunities for both sides. He replaced Roberto Firmino.

Brazil didn’t stop threatening Chile with Neymar’s dribbles and quick counter-attacks. But Chile was much closer to the equalizer; it had an Eduardo Vargas goal disallowed for offside and English-Chilean Ben Brereton hit the bar with a header in the 68th minute.

An exhausted Neymar said after the match that playing with 10 men was a great test for Brazil. He was not close to scoring as in other Copa America matches, but he was key by holding possession.

“Every match we need to get some tests to make us stronger, show we can do it in every circumstance,” Neymar said.

“We had to stand together. It was very hard to do it.” Chile’s Arturo Vidal said his team will leave the tournament with some pride.

“We lost to a great team, a favorite which is playing at home,” he said.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Peru beat Paraguay 4-3 on penalties Friday to advance to the Copa America semifinals in the most thrilling tournament match so far.

Regular time at the Olimpico Stadium in Goiania finished 3-3 after a hard-fought match that included red cards to key players of both teams and two goals by Italian-born Gianluca Lapadula for Peru.

The decisive moment in the quarterfinal came after Peruvian goalkeeper Pedro Gallese stopped Alberto Espinola in the shootout. Miguel Trauco converted his shot to put the runners- up of the 2019 Copa America back in contention.

Daniel Martinez and Braian Samudio had also missed for Paraguay. Santiago Ormeño and Christian Cueva were stopped by Paraguay’s Antony Silva. Paraguay was without Miguel Almirón, one of its top players in the tournament, due to a left thigh injury.

Coach Eduardo Berizzo’s side opened the scoring in the 11th minute with Gustavo Gómez pushing the ball to the empty net after a corner.

Lapadula scored his first in the 21st from close range after an assist from Andre Carrillo. He added another in the 40th minute with a crossed shot from the left flank after Paraguayan defenders stopped to complain about a foul.

Lapadula said on Instagram he had ended the intense match with a broken nose.

Peru advanced to the semifinals after Lapadula, Yotún, Renato Tapia and Trauco scored in the shootout. Paraguay’s Ángel Romero, Alonso and Robert Piris da Motta also converted.

Peru will play its Copa America semifinal on Monday at the Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It lost 4-0 in the group stage of the tournament to Brazil, one of its possible semifinal opponents.

Agencies