Brazil Boss Blames Self For Copa America Exit

Brazil coach Dorival Junior said he takes “full responsibility” for his team’s underwhelming Copa América quarterfinal exit after losing to 10-man Uruguay 4-2 in a penalty shootout on Saturday.

“This type of work requires a great amount of patience,” said Dorival, who took charge in January, after the defeat at Allegiant Stadium.

“I do have to acknowledge that these weren’t the expected results, and I take full responsibility for them, but I do think as well that this team has great room to grow and evolve and improve.”

Despite having a one-man advantage after a red card given to Uruguay’s Nahitan Nández in the 74th minute, Brazil failed to break the deadlock as the feisty encounter featuring a tournament-high 41 fouls finished 0-0 after 90 minutes to go to penalties.

In the shootout, Éder Militão and Douglas Luiz failed to find the net for Brazil, while Alisson Becker denied Uruguay defender José María Giménez. However, Manuel Ugarte converted the winning spot kick to send Uruguay into the last four and Brazil to an early exit.

Brazil head home after earning just one win in the group stage before being defeated by Uruguay in the first knockout round.

The result also represents a downward turn for the Brazilians, who were finalists (2021), champions (2019) in the two previous editions of the Copa.

“This is a process; in general, you come across difficulties when you’re creating a team,” said Dorival, whose team was without the suspended Vinícius Júnior in the quarterfinal.

“This was our first official tournament, and the result was far from what was expected … our main objective now is to qualify for the World Cup.”