Match Recap

Brazil advance to the Copa América Final after they defeated Argentina in a convincing 2-0 win. It was a big night for Brazil as they now have a good chance to lift a trophy in their home country.

Eder Militão did not play. Casemiro did, however, did play the entire match alongside Arthur. He did a fantastic job of keeping Lionel Messi in check, making it tough on Messi and Argentina with hard tackles. Casemiro also did well in avoiding being carded the duration of the match after some of these tackles.

While Casemiro looked quite good, Arthur struggled a bit. This really seemed like a match where Brazil could have used Fernandinho instead. There were times they got dribbled past but were able to recover and really contribute to Brazil’s clean sheet.

Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino scored Brazil’s two goals. Alisson also impressed, making several key saves to keep Argentina scoreless, including a great save on a Messi free kick. To his credit, Alisson is quickly climbing the ranks of the world’s top goalkeepers.

While Brazil looked good, Argentina could not capitalize on the chances they created, finishing was very poor to say the least. Argentina once again just cannot get it done in international play and are eliminated from another tournament.

It doesn’t help that Lionel Messi scored one goal this tournament, a penalty kick to make it even more unimpressive. It’s obviously not solely on his performances, Argentina clearly lack the skill to get far in these international tourneys.

It is clear, though, that Argentina’s problems run deeper than Gonzalo Higuain, who was the favorite whipping boy when he was capped by the international team all those years. Argentina and Lionel Scaloni aren’t choosing their best when they don’t start Paulo Dybala and don’t even bother bringing Mauro Icardi.

Brazil, Casemiro and Militão get their chance for South American glory when they play in the Final on Sunday against the winner of Wednesday’s match between Chile and Peru. Argentina will play in Saturday’s third place match against the loser of that matchup.