SM
Watford vs. Leeds: 10 hrs 40 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
BN
Copa America | Quarter-Finals
Jun 27, 2015 at 10.30pm UK
 
PN

1-1

Paraguay win 4-3 on penalties
Robinho (15')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Gonzalez (72' pen.)

Live Commentary: Brazil 1-1 Paraguay (Paraguay win 4-3 on penalties) - as it happened

:Headline: Live Commentary: Brazil 1-1 Paraguay (Paraguay win 4-3 on penalties) - as it happened: ID:230564: from db_amp
Relive Sports Mole's live coverage as Brazil exit the Copa America on penalties to Paraguay at the quarter-final stage.

Paraguay beat Brazil 4-3 on penalties to book a place in the semi-finals of the Copa America after the clash in Concepcion finished 1-1 in regulation.

Robinho fired the Selecao into a 1-0 half-time lead, but Derlis Gonzalez's emphatically-dispatched second-half penalty got Ramon Diaz's men back on level terms to force a shootout.

There, Paraguay converted four of their five penalties with aplomb - with Roque Santa Cruz firing over the bar - to book a date with Argentina next week.

Below, relive the drama with our live text commentary.

Arturo Vidal's drink-driving shame. Neymar's suspension. Naked Venezuelan television hosts. Gonzalo Jara's finger. Edinson Cavani's anus. What will this edition of the Copa America throw up next? Lord only knows. Indeed, it has been littered with controversial incidents thus far. But here's to hoping that Brazil's quarter-final with Paraguay tonight makes headlines for the right reasons. Let's not hold our breaths though, eh?
It has certainly not been one for the purists, has it? Nope. In fact, it more than likely has football hipsters all over the globe ripping up their books about football - ones that you probably haven't read or even heard of - and abandoning the beautiful game until club football returns. Still, although it's been a tournament rife with all sorts of unsavoury moments, it has thrown up some good moments too.
We saw Paraguay come back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the mighty Argentina. We saw Bolivia record their first Copa America win since 1997 by beating Ecuador. We saw host nation Chile flash their title credentials by thumping Bolivia 5-0. We saw Jamaica's Deshorn Brown take a selfie with Lionel Messi directly after losing 1-0. You see? Some nice moments to combat the bad!
Oh, and we saw a naked Venezuelan television host. I had to put that in the 'negative' pile earlier because the girlfriend was dangerously close to the screen.
Anywho, shall we crack on with a bit of team news? Why not. Stay tuned.
BRAZIL XI: Jefferson, Alves, Miranda, Silva, Luis; Fernandinho, Willian, Elias, Robinho, Coutinho; Firmino
PARAGUAY XI: Villar; Piris, Aguilar, Valdez, Da Silva; Gonzalez, Benitez, Caceres, Aranda; Santa Cruz, Valdez
Lets start with the Brazilians and I can confirm that Dunga names an unchanged side from the team that beat Venezuela 2-1 last time out. No Neymar of course, so the impressive Robinho continues to deputise in an attack that will interest Liverpool fans, as Reds new boy Roberto Firmino spearheads the forward line, with Philippe Coutinho in behind. They'll be seeing that combination at Anfield next term no doubt.
On to Paraguay now and coach Ramon Diaz makes FIVE changes from the 1-1 draw with Uruguay. Alfredo Aguilar comes into defence to replace Marcos Caceres, while there's also places for Derlis Gonzalez, Victor Caceres, Eduardo Aranda and Mr Roque Santa Cruz - formerly of Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City of course; although you may not remember him playing for the latter.
There's no prizes for guessing who the neutral is rooting for tonight, my friends. Indeed, victory for Brazil would see them book a mouth-watering semi-final with the old enemy Argentina in the semi-final - and surely that, despite both sides playing fairly poorly thus far, would compensate for the unsavoury element. Something tells me the football hipsters would return in their droves.
PREDICTION! Okay. We're five minutes from kickoff so let's stop messing around. 2-1 Brazil. They've not played great in this tournament as of yet, but they do have quality all around the pitch and they should have too much for Diaz's men tonight. Feel free to tweet us @notarealhandle to tell us your score, where you could win the chance to meet Gonzalo Jara. You'll be chauffeured there by Arturo Vidal. *may not be a real competition*
Right, we've had the anthems. Now we'll see the exchange of the pendants, the pre-match handshakes, where both captains pretend to like each other, and then we'll be kicking off! Excited? Me too.
KICKOFF: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're off in Concepcion, my friends. Brazil, playing from right to left, in their traditional yellow, get us underway. Let's go folks.
SHOT! Two minutes in and we've seen our first shot, as Philippe Coutinho's stinging effort is pushed over the bar by Justo Villar. We saw him score from that kinda range for Liverpool last season so, you know, it was a justified effort.
Brazil dominating so far. They're in full control, stringing together pass after pass and they look up for this one it has to be said. Of course, they were eliminated by Paraguay in the last edition of the competition, so vengeance is one of the motifs lining this one.
Oh dear. Robinho's amazing resurgence at international level has been noted in this competition, but this delivery left a little to be desired as the Santos man fizzed a free kick into the box, but it's over the head of everybody.
Paraguay are definitely coming into this one a little bit more now, as Miranda is forced into a desperate clearance as Santa Cruz looked poised to tap home Caceres's teasing low cross.
It's a good spell from Paraguay this. Brazil started the better of both sides but for the last five or six minutes it's been all about Ramon Diaz's me, who are certainly rising to the challenge here. It's good to see.
GOAL! Brazil 1-0 Paraguay (Robinho)
We spoke about Robinho a moment ago, and the veteran keeps on improving. It's good play from Elias, who passed out wide to Dani Alves when a shot was on, with the Barcelona man then fizzing a fine ball into the box and the unmarked Robinho tapped home from close range. 1-0.
Incidentally, that was Robinho's first competitive goal for the Selecao since, hmm, 2010! There was big questions asked over who would step up in the absence of Neymar, and the ex-Man City man has answered them. Fair play to him.
Make no mistake about it though - Paraguay aren't out of this. Not by a long shot. Brazil's defence has come under scrutiny in this competition and the Paraguayans won't be overly downbeat over their chances of coming back.
What a phenomenal bit of skill this was from Philippe Coutinho, who nonchalantly knocked it over the head of Paulo Da Silva, before continuing his run and being fouled. Superb from the Liverpool man.
BOOKING: Oh lord this is aggressive from Bruno Valdez, who earns himself a yellow card for a crunching challenge on Filipe Luis. Not going to lie - it could've been a red. It was that vicious.
Filipe Luis clattered yet again; this time by Derlis Gonzalez. Do they think Luis is as good as Messi or something? They're hitting the wrong player. You need to be trying to injure the likes of Robinho and Coutinho lads.
We've seen little to nothing of Roberto Firmino thus far. I'm really not sure he's even had a touch of the ball as of yet. He's looking a little isolated at the moment and Dunga - and indeed Liverpool fans - will want to see him in the game a little more.
Very little to report in recent minutes. Both sides just knocking the ball around but not threatening much in the final third. Of course, it's Paraguay who really need to threaten because, you know, they're losing. Not rocket science folks.
SHOT! Better from Paraguay and Santa Cruz, who drills a left-footed shot a little wide of Jefferson's goal. They've done well since falling behind overall but just lacking a bit of cutting edge in the final third.
Paraguay really haven't done themselves any favours in terms of set pieces. They've had a host of free kicks, from wide positions, but the delivery lets them down time and time again. At this moment in time, I can't see Paraguay scoring - but the same can't be said for Brazil.
Five minutes left until the break then and Brazil looking very comfortable it's gotta be said. Paraguay have had a tonne of possession, but sadly for them and coach Ramon Diaz, they're doing very little with it.
We still haven't seen enough of Firmino either. What, £29m was spent on him the other day and if I'm a Liverpool fan I'd be...not concerned, but not excited either. He's a player that needs support and he's getting none tonight.
HALF TIME: Brazil 1-0 Paraguay
Well, that's that for the first half, folks. Brazil are 45 minutes away from booking a mouth-watering semi-final clash with Argentina, courtesy of Robinho's 15th-minute goal.
Brazil haven't been brilliant; you get the impression there's one breakthrough performance from them - and they'll be hoping that it comes in the next round.
But they need to get there first, and it remains to be seen if they will. Paraguay haven't been great by any stretch of the imagination, but they've had plenty of possession, and delivered plenty of crosses into the box. If their end product improves even slightly in this second half then they'll be a threat.
Anywho, join me back here in a few minutes for the conclusion. Will Brazil book the semi-final that the neutral is dying to see, or will Paraguay come from a goal down to spoil the party? We'll know the answer in less than an hour.
RESTART: And we are back underway here, my friends. Paraguay, playing from right to left, kick us off once again and what a big 45 minutes ahead for them. Can they turn it around? Well that first half didn't exactly inspire confidence, but who knows.
Paraguay, to their credit, have begun this half well, but it still remains to be seen if they've got the creativity to break down this Brazil defence - and indeed the firepower to make the chance count. I doubt it on both occasions but time will tell.
BOOKING: A furious Dani Alves protests his innocence after bringing down Benitez on the edge of the box. It's not a shooting position, but it's a crossing opportunity and their deadball needs to be better.
SAVE! Well it wasn't a shooting position, but Derlis Gonzalez didn't care, as the Paraguayan goes for goal from an acute angle and Jefferson beats it away at his near post. Waste.
Fernandinho reads the game excellently. Benitez skipped Elias then and shaped for a shot, but Fernandinho didn't buy it - and he was right, as Benitez tried to go around him as well but the Man City man knew what he was trying and got his body in the way. Brilliant.
Paraguay coach Ramon Diaz has just seen his assistant Andreas Couna get banished to the stands. For what? Hmm, I don't know, but I'll let you know as soon as I do.
Correction: it was actually Ramon Diaz's son Emiliano who was sent to the stands. For what? Hmm, I don't know, but I'll let you know as soon as I do.
Serious question: is this the most subdued Brazil team in decades? If not for their yellow shirts there would be literally nothing colourful about them. They've been poor today, as they have been all the way through the tournament. Well, maybe 'poor' is an overstatement, considering they're grinding out results, but they're not the Brazil I grew up watching. Samba? These blokes look like they can't do kick-ups.
CHANCE! This is as close as Paraguay have come, as Paulo Da Silva powers his header at goal following a corner, but Jefferson beats it away.
Nelson Valdez goes down in the box under a challenge from Thiago Silva, but the referee is having none of it. Rightly so.
Just not good enough for Brazil. Robinho, Firmino and Coutinho are the major players in a swift counter-attack, but Robinho plays it out wide to Firmino instead of the unmarked Coutinho. The new Liverpool hitman then looked to play in his Reds teammate but the chance was snuffed out. That's as close as Brazil have come since the opener - and they didn't even get a shot away.
PENALTY TO PARAGUAY!
Stick-on penalty as Thiago Silva's hand is well above his head while challenging for a header and it's a penalty! Right decision.
GOAL! Brazil 1-1 Paraguay (Derlis Gonzalez penalty)
Sorry but you just don't see better penalties than this, and it's from 21-year-old Gonzalez, who burdens the hopes and dreams of a nation when taking that penalty, and it didn't faze him a bit, stroking into the left corner. It's so rare to see a player get that much pace and precision on his penalties. Cracker.
Have Paraguay deserved it? Probably. They've not been brilliant, granted, but Brazil have been utterly, utterly hopeless and that mouth-watering semi-final between Argentina now looks far away.
And who's to say it would be mouth watering? Brazil have been atrocious, and so have Argentina overall. If Paraguay get there it'll be on merit and nobody has a right to complain because, well, I personally don't want to see any more of Brazil after this.
Just a reminder that we go straight to penalties here if it ends all square, which is a positive thing in this case because another half-an-hour of this Brazil team isn't a great prospect. Sorry to keep harping on about them but they've been that bad. Paraguay could win this in regulation.
SAVE! It's all Paraguay now, and Derlis Gonzalez sees his near-post stinger beaten away by Jefferson. I know where my money is if we are to see a winner in 90 minutes.
BOOKING: Osvaldo Martinez is booked for a cynical foul on Douglas Costa, who threatened to show him a clean pair of heels.
SHOT! Ever seen Dani Alves take a free kick before? If not then you won't get another chance, because the Barcelona man has just curled over the wall, but the ball also ends up six or seven feet away from goal. Poor effort.
Not many players could make a mug of Dani Alves, but that's just what Oscar Romero has achieved. Two or three excellent step-overs, before getting to the byline, but his final ball was poor. It's been the story of Paraguay's match.
SUB: Brazil withdraw goalscorer Robinho for Everton Ribeiro. He must be a cracking penalty taker. We're two minutes away from finding out. No extra time.
THREE MINUTES ADDED ON:
I'll tell you something: if we go to penalty, and Paraguay progress, then coach Ramon Diaz can't waste a moment. Paraguay desperately need to work on their set-piece deliveries. It's been dreadful from the third minute to now.
FULL TIME: Brazil 1-1 Paraguay
Off to penalties we go then. Paraguay earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw to bring us to spot-kicks and now it's a lottery - or is it?
Regardless of the outcome, Argentina will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing either of these two. Sub-par from both, but especially Brazil. The performance was so toothless that it belongs on Jeremy Kyle.
I'm going to stick my neck out and say Paraguay will win this. Brazil don't fancy a semi with Argentina and there's 90 minutes of proof to suggest that. They're not going to throw the shootout, of course, but Paraguay want it more. Simple as. Let's see what transpires.
Brazil are taking the first penalty - and it's Fernandinho...
Brazil 1-0 Paraguay Brilliant penalty from Fernandinho. All power, no precision, but it's enough to beat Villar, who played when Paraguay beat Brazil on penos in the last edition.
Brazil 1-1 Paraguay This is an even better peno from Alvaro Martinez, who blasts past Jefferson. Take a bow son.
Brazil 1-1 Paraguay Ribeiro misses!!!!! He was brought on for Robinho minutes before the end, and he slots it wide. Shocking. Just shocking. Advantage Paraguay.
Brazil 1-2 Paraguay Another brilliant peno from Paraguay, as Victor Caceres slams them into the lead.
Brazil 2-2 Paraguay Good penalty from Miranda as it's all square, but Paraguay go again to move ahead once more.
Brazil 2-3 Paraguay Sorry but Paraguay have been practicing penalties becuase their execution has been top class, as Raúl Bobadilla finds the top corner with aplomb.
Brazil 2-3 Paraguay Douglas Costa misses!!!! Oh my word what a shocking, shocking penalty, as the Shakhtar man blazes over the bar.
Brazil 2-3 Paraguay Roque Santa Cruz has the chance to win it but he misses! This is probably the worst peno I've seen. It's probably gone out of the stadium.
Brazil 3-3 Paraguay Coutinho scores and we're all level - but Paraguay have a second match point. Let's see.
Brazil 3-4 Paraguay Paraguay win!!!!! Derlis Gonzalez, whose penalty in regulation got Paraguay back on level terms, strokes home another fine, fine penalty as Ramon Diaz's men eliminate Brazil!
Brazil are going to get absolutely castigated in the media - their own and abroad - tomorrow and rightly so. Their heart wasn't in this. They didn't fancy a semi-final with Argentina and there's 90 minutes of proof there behind us.
Paraguay were no great shakes, and the Argies will be licking their lips at the idea of facing them, but they were head and shoulders above perhaps the worst Brazil squad in my memory certainly.
Anywho, it's time for bed after that game. Well done Paraguay, but the real headline is Brazil's atrocious display in Concepcion unfortunately. That's all from us. Goodnight folks.

amp_article__230564 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2015-06-28 10:07:35:
html db last update - 2021-03-11 08:56:50 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .