Peru are shock Copa America semi-finalists after knocking out Uruguay in a penalty shoot-out, having somehow hung on for a goalless draw over the 90 minutes.
The victors had to ride their luck but stuck to their task with admirable commitment after conceding five in their previous game against Brazil, and have managed to propel themselves into the last four despite only winning one of their four games.
And the fact they needed a penalty shoot-out to do so was nothing new, because that is fast becoming the theme of this particular edition of Copa America…
Where did the goals go?
Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru and Venezuela: all of them reached the Copa America quarter-finals, but all of them failed to score. Argentina, in fact, were the only team out of eight to find the night in regulation time in a set of quarter-finals which will be remembered – if at all – for penalty shoot-out victories by Brazil, Chile and now Peru.
No doubt analysts will spend the next few days debating the reasons for the lack of goals (two in four games). Are general trends at play, or should we treat each game as an individual case?
One thing we can conclude, though, is that the standard of penalty taking has been extremely high. Of the 30 kicks taken in the three games which needed them, only five were missed: Roberto Firmino for Brazil, Gustavo Gomez and Derlis Gonzalez for Paraguay, Colombia’s William Tesillo and now Luis Suarez for Uruguay.
For the sake of entertainment, though, most fans would be much happier if that kind of deadly finishing could be employed when it really matters…during actual game time. Will the semi-finals oblige?
Uruguay shoot themselves in the foot
Uruguay could and should have had the game wrapped up long before the shoot-out was required, but they unnecessarily prolonged Peru’s hopes of springing an upset with some wayward finishing – and a bit of bad luck with the linesman’s flag.
The biggest culprit was Edinson Cavani, who was presented with a glorious close-range chance just past the midway point of the opening period, inexplicably blazing over the crossbar after a shot from Suarez was parried into his path close to goal.
Diego Godin missed a similar opportunity in the second period from a half-cleared set-piece, and Uruguay’s poor finishing was reflected in the fact that they totalled 12 shots but only three of them were on target.
There were, however, occasions that Uruguay did manage to find the back of the net – three of them, in fact – but they were all ruled out for offside: firstly De Arrascaeta in the first half, then Cavani around the hour mark, and finally Luis Suarez with 15 minutes remaining.
Still, though, Uruguay should have been good enough to overcome the modest opposition of Peru. And perhaps their biggest failing lies not with their finishing, but their mentality…
Do Uruguay really believe?
Looking at Uruguay’s squad list, it’s impossible to avoid their sheer quality. With Suarez and Cavani up front, Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez at the back and young stars Rodrigo Bentancur and Fede Valverde in midfield, the Celeste boast excellent players in all positions and an enviable blend of youthful vigour and wise experience.
The question is, though, do they really believe in themselves? For years, perhaps because of their nation’s tiny size (3.5 million population, less than a tenth of neighbouring Argentina’s), Uruguay have chosen to cast themselves as the eternally put-upon no-hopers who have to fight against the odds to achieve anything.
That very much mirrors the long-held philosophy of Atletico Madrid, and there are also similarities in playing style. Like Atletico, Uruguay play a fiercely organised 4-4-2 formation with the emphasis on defence, surrendering possession and seemingly forever scared of leaving themselves exposed at the back.
For lesser nations, that’s perfectly normal. But Uruguay showed that tentativeness even against a lowly Peru team who had been thrashed 5-0 by Brazil in their last game, appearing not to trust themselves to get on the front foot and overwhelm their opponents with their talent.
In the end, their lack of adventure counted against them. Peru were there for the taking but Uruguay couldn’t do it, and they’ve only got themselves to blame.
