Brazil defeated Uruguay (2-1): Brazil march to the Finals

Brazil beat Uruguay 2-1 at the Belo Horizonte in an ill tempered and rather feisty all-South-American clash to advance to the Final of the 2013 Confederations Cup. The match was not much of a spectacle as it lacked the quality that one would usually associate with the beautiful game, and was instead littered with fouls and rarely featured good flowing football.

Much like Brazil’s final group game against Italy there was little to talk about in the first 40 odd minutes barring a David Luiz foul on the Uruguayan captain Diego Lugano in the penalty area which was spotted by the referee. Diego Forlan stepped up to take the penalty but was thwarted by Julio Cesar much to the delight of the partisan fans.

Brazil looked threatening in the attacking third, but quality chances were hard to come by. Yet there were some positives for Felipe Scolari to take away with Hulk and Neymar seeming to gel together for the first time in the tournament.

Right at the end of the first half Paulinho brilliantly picked out Neymar with a long ball over the top. The Barcelona bound youngster controlled the ball exceptionally and beat his marker for pace before attempting to chip the onrushing Muslera in goal. The shot was well saved by Muslera, but fell right into the center of the penalty area where Mr. Right Place at the Right Time, Fred, was on hand to slice the ball into the bottom corner.

Much to the delight of the home fans, Brazil went into the break a goal to the good.

Three minutes into the second half, Brazil was caught out at the back. David Luiz’s clearance pinballed around the box off Luis Suarez, before Thiago Silva’s rushed effort was stolen away by Edinson Cavani, who was deployed on the right wing. The highly rated Uruguayan striker made no mistake, finally getting off the mark in the tournament, by lashing home a left footed drive that gave Julio Cesar no chance.

Both the teams did have a fair number of chances in a considerably more entertaining second half with Brazil spared the blushes when Silva’s header from an Uruguay corner sneaked over his own crossbar, while Fred’s ambitious volley from substitute Bernard’s cross, sailed into the stands.

The match had extra time written all over it, but 4 minutes from the end Brazil scored the winning goal from a corner which was headed in at the back post from Real Madrid target Paulinho.

Brazil advanced to the Confederations Cup Final for the third consecutive time, and they will face off against the winner of Italy - Spain contest in Rio on Sunday.

Teams:

Brazil – Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo, Neymar (92` Dante), Paulinho, Luiz Gustavo, Oscar (73` Hernanes), Hulk (64` Bernard) and Fred

Substitutes- Jefferson, Dante, Hernanes, Bernard, Lucas

Uruguay- Muslera, Lugano, Godin, Maxi Pereira, Caceres, Christian Rodriguez, Arevalo Rios, Alvaro Gonzales (83`Gargano), Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan

Substitutes- Castillo, Gargano, Alvaro Pereira, Ramirez, Abel Hernandez

Final Score: Brazil 2-1 Uruguay ( 41` Fred, 48` Cavani, 86` Paulinho)