The first semifinal of the 2007 Copa America between Brazil and Uruguay was a highly competitive and entertaining match between two of South America’s strongest teams that culminated in a Brazil victory following seven rounds of penalty kicks and truly showed the fickle nature of momentum in football.
The game’s first ten minutes did not produce any serious threats to either goal, as both teams cautiously felt one another out. In the 13th minute, with Brazil attacking down the right side, defensive midfielder Mineiro received the ball in the box. His shot was stopped by a fantastic save by Uruguayan keeper Fabian Carini but the ball bounced to Brazil’s Maicon, and with Carini out of position following his save, the Inter Milan defender fired the ball into the net to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. It seemed as though the game had finally begun to find a rhythm, but it lasted just five minutes as, in the 18th minute, a section of lights at the Uruguayan end of the pitch went dark, leading to a 14-minute stoppage in play while officials debated the proper course of action. Play resumed at the 32-minute mark, with Brazil gaining a slight edge in momentum, culminating in a Robinho cross across the face of the Uruguayan goal intended for Vagner Love. As the ball moved across the field, a second Brazilian goal seemed a foregone conclusion. That is, until Vagner Love was taken down right in front of the goal by a Uruguayan defender before he could redirect the ball into the net, seemingly earning Brazil a penalty kick. The officials, however, were not convinced, and allowed play to continue. This would prove to a vital moment in the match.
Not long after, following several corner kicks for Uruguay and an impressive string of defensive plays by Brazilian goalkeeper Doni, Uruguay broke through. In the 49th minute, Doni failed to clear an Alvaro Recoba corner, and the ball bounced out to Diego Forlan. From the edge of the box, the new Atletico Madrid forward, gathered the ball and fired a low shot past Doni, who had gotten tangled up with one of his own defenders, evening the score at one goal apiece.
Brazil regained the lead just five minutes later on a header from Julio Baptista following a free kick. Brazil maintained its 2-1 lead until the 70th minute, when Diego Forlan, the spearhead of the Uruguayan attack, struck again, this time setting up Uruguay’s equalizer. Following a Cristian Gonzalez cross, Forlan headed the ball along to Sebastián Abreu. Abreu, who replaced Recoba at halftime, received Forlan’s header at the far post and put the equalizer past Doni.
With neither team able to find the winning goal in the game’s final twenty minutes, a trip to the Copa America final came down to a game of chance- penalty kicks. Robinho opened by firing his shot past Carini, putting Brazil ahead, 1-0. Uruguay’s first penalty was taken by Diego Forlan, the man of the match through 90 minutes. Doni dove to his right while the ball went left, but the Brazilain keeper made a brilliant kick save of Forlan’s penalty, preserving the lead for Brazil. After both sides converted each of their next two penalties, Afonso Alves of Brazil gave Uruguay new life by missing Brazil’s fourth attempt. Following the Afonso miss, Cristiano Gonzalez converted to make the score 3-3. After Brazil’s midfielder Diego converted is attempt, the spotlight shifted again to Sebastián Abreu. After equalizing in regular time, Abreu evened the tally at 4-4, pushing the shootout into sudden death.
Brazil was forced to face its tournament mortality after Fernando missed the first sudden death attempt, leaving Uruguay just one penalty kick from punching its ticket to Sunday’s final. Against that backdrop, Pablo Garcia stepped up and sent his effort toward the right side of the Brazilian goal, but he pushed it a bit too far, as the ball smacked off the post and stayed out. Brazil was still alive! Next, Gilberto coolly stepped up and converted his penalty, giving his team a 5-4 lead. Uruguay’s Diego Lugano, with his team on the brink of elimination, needing to convert its next penalty to extend the shootout, had had his attempt saved by Doni, who appeared to move a considerable distance before the kick was taken. As with the tackle on Vagner Love in the first, the referee elected to let the play stand as it occurred on the field.
In spite of the final save, Brazil fairly earned its place in Sunday’s final match after a hard-fought match-up with a Uruguayan side that is much stronger than its #30 international ranking would suggest. This was a thrilling test that forced both sides to endure a bizarre mid-first half stoppage of play, dramatic swings in momentum, both in regulation as well as the penalty shootout and questionable refereeing decisions on both sides.
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