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Brazil advances to final again
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/07/23 11:57  Shanghai Daily

  World champion Brazil set up a Copa America final against archrival Argentina by beating Uruguay on 5-3 penalties following a 1-1 draw in their semifinal in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday.

  Uruguay dominated the first half and stunned the world champion by taking a 22nd minute lead with a Marcelo Sosa header.

  Brazil forward Adriano equalized two minutes into the second half with his sixth goal of the tournament in a game witnessed by a disappointing crowd of around 15,000, local interest having diminished after host Peru's quarterfinals exit.

  Brazil, which has reached the final despite resting top players such as Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, then converted all five penalties while goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved Vicente Sanchez's fourth attempt for Uruguay.

  Uruguay made a lively start and nearly went ahead in the second minute when Dario Silva was given a clear run on goal but shot straight at Cesar.

  Silva was again the culprit 11 minutes later when he contrived to miss an open goal from point-blank range, somehow turning Carlos Diogo's header onto the crossbar when it seemed impossible to miss.

  Uruguay, however, took the lead when Javier Delgado floated over a free kick from the left and midfielder Sosa, known as "The Duck," stooped to head the ball past Cesar.

  Sosa and Delgado both came close to increasing Uruguay's lead before halftime, the latter seeing his swerving free kick turned away by Cesar.

  Uruguay goalkeeper Sebastian Viera made two good first half saves, punching over Kleberson's drive early on and then turning away a cunning Edu chip in injury time.

  Brazil emerged in a different frame of mind after halftime and leveled almost straight away when Alex set Luis Fabiano away on the right and his low shot was turned in from close range by Adriano. The scorer threatened with two left-foot shots in the next three minutes as Brazil threatened to took control.

  The game lost momentum before bursting back into life in the final five minutes, when Luis Fabiano was agonizingly close for Brazil and Maicon was denied by Viera.

  At the end, Silva had another good chance but his shot was blocked by Juan.

  "The best two teams have reached the final," Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "It was a baptism of fire," he said.

  "We took the five penalties majestically and we showed great emotional control. Penalties are also a matter of technical quality and I think we were superb, the three days we spent practicing paid off."

  Argentina ousted defending champion Colombia 3-0 on Tuesday to advance to Sunday's final. Uruguay will play Colombia for third place on Saturday in Cusco.

  "Uruguay played organized and very aggressive in the beginning, it was a perfect first half," Uruguay coach Jorge Fossati said. "But unfortunately we had to play the shootout at the end, which is always like a lottery."

  Fossati decided to replace regular starter Diego Forlan - one of the team's offensive stars - with defensive midfielder Diego Perez, in a move that paid off early as Brazil had trouble overcoming the team's midfield lineup.

  "They changed their setup a bit, that made things harder for us," Parreira said. "But we were able to catch up in the second half, controlling the match again."

  (Reuters)




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