Copa America 2024: What went wrong for Dorival Junior's Brazil?

Brazil lost to Uruguay in the quarterfinals of Copa America.

Dorival Junior’s Brazil have crashed out of Copa America 2024 after a devastating 4-2 loss in the penalty shootouts to Uruguay during the quarterfinals at the Allegiant Stadium.

The match between the two South American football giants proved to be a feisty affair filled with robust challenges, player altercations, and missed opportunities, but there were no goals to show for as it finished 0-0 at the end of regulation time.

Ultimately, it was 15-time Copa America champions Uruguay who emerged victorious as they stunned tournament favourites Brazil 4-2 on penalties to bring their tournament to an unexpected premature end.

With this enthralling penalty shootout triumph, La Celeste booked their place in the semifinals of Copa America 2024, where they are set to face dark horse Colombia, who are currently on an incredible 27-game unbeaten streak following a 5-0 demolition of Panama in the quarterfinals.

On the other end of the spectrum is Brazil, which saw their dream of a tenth Copa America crown crush after a heartbreaking quarterfinal round exit this summer.

Before the quarterfinal stage, Brazil had a mixed-bag group stage run that saw them surprisingly finish second in Group D behind table-toppers and semi-finalists Colombia, with a record of one win and two draws.

The Seleção Canarinha kicked off their campaign with a disappointing goalless draw against Costa Rica, which was followed by a thumping 4-1 win against Paraguay in the next match. Just when things looked like they were about to click for Dorival Junior’s side, they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw to Colombia in their final group game.

Lack of clinical finishing haunts Brazil’s Copa America campaign

One of the biggest problems that haunted Brazil throughout the competition was their inability to be composed and clinical in front of goal, and as a result, they failed to convert great goal-scoring opportunities. Despite dominating proceedings about statistics in almost all matches, Brazil proved to be fruitless in completely capitalizing on their creativity, as their lack of ruthlessness in the final third ultimately led to their premature exit from the tournament.

Barring the four goals against Paraguay in their second group game, the flow of goals dried up for Brazil as they managed to score a shambolic total of just one goal in their other three matches combined.

Inexperienced squad and coach struggle under tournament pressure

In the absence of star players such as Neymar Jr. and Casemiro this summer, this talented yet inexperienced Brazilian squad that had a bunch of new faces involved eventually crumbled to the big tournament pressure that is associated with a prestigious competition like Copa America, resulting in this talented unit not being able to fulfill their utmost potential.

Another key factor that might have well and truly contributed to Brazil’s disappointing tournament is the appointment of an inexperienced head coach like Dorival Junior to manage the helm of affairs at one of the best football nations in the world. His lack of tactical flexibility, poor in-game management skills, and inability to get the best out of such a talented group of players are a negative showing on his coaching resume.

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil will look to bounce back from the disappointment of the 2024 Copa America as they now set their eyes on building a top squad in order to potentially achieve international glory at the 2026 World Cup.

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