The 2024 Copa America has been a rollercoaster ride for Brazil, as they had one win and two draws in the group stage. As a result, Dorival Júnior and his team finished in second place and now have a challenging opponent in the quarterfinals: Uruguay.
Moreover, it’s not that they have to face a Uruguayan team that went perfect in the group stage, they have to do so without their star player, Vinicius Junior. In the contest against Colombia, the Real Madrid standout received a yellow card, his second of the group stage.
Ahead of Saturday’s contest, Júnior announced on Friday that he intends to replace the Real Madrid player with another Real Madrid player: Endrick.
“Raphinha, Endrick, and Rodrygo,” Júnior said (h/t TyC Sports). “I hope we can continue finding the path to goals. The team’s work revolves around providing forwards with goal-scoring opportunities. It won’t be different. We lose an important player but we find a player who seeks opportunities.”
Manchester United standout Facundo Pellistri revealed how Uruguay intends to play against Enrick and the Brazilian team. Even though the squad is facing challenges, Brazil still have high-profile names who can harm La Celeste in the attack and defense.
“We know that our style is one of pressure and that the matches are intense,” Pellistri said (h/t TyC Sports). “We want to be protagonists and sometimes you have to be in places that are not so usual, but that’s something to take advantage of.
“It’s my role to assume a position further back because it’s normal in modern football for the opposing full-backs to attack. However, these are moments in the game that you have to know how to take advantage of. It’s going to be a beautiful game to play.”
