Monday’s Copa America semifinal seemed like a one-sided training game at one point, but it quickly turned into a tense clash where, in the end, Brazil were pleased to hear the final whistle that sealed their 1-0 victory over Peru. Sealed.
This time it was not because Brazil sent a man and had to defend with fewer resources, as in the quarter-final against Chile. Till the end of Monday it was 11 against 11. But Peru, who looked as though they were playing with eight in the first half, took Brazil close to the ropes several times after the interval.
It was a game that leaves both the coaches with food for thought and something to cheer about. Brazilian boss Tite has three reasons to celebrate; Their team is in Saturday’s final, they won’t have to play again on the dreadful Nilton Santos Stadium pitch and the first half was as good, if not better, than everything they’ve done in the tournament.
He made the expected change from a disappointing performance against Chile, starting with Lucas Paqueta giving him an extra man in midfield. The first half was at times like the glory days of Brazil 2016-17 – Renato Augusto walked the midfield with elegance and intelligence as he emerged victorious in the first 18 months of Tite’s reign. Pacetta is his closest to Renato Augusto, and his partnership with Neymar was excellent.
The Brazilian allowed Neymar to roam free, with Richardson occasionally entering a centre-forward position, but also making a defensive shift on the left flank. Everton Soares plays on the right wing to open the pitch. Full-back Danilo on that side acted with caution, while left-back Rennon Lodi was encouraged to move on. And with Casemiro and Fred also joining the attack, Peru was nearly swept away. Only keeper Pedro Gallis kept him in the game, but he could do nothing when the deadlock was broken 10 minutes before half time; Richardson sent Neymar down the left channel, beat two defenders on the pitch and some craters and hills and pulled back for Paqueta to judge the awkward bounce well and drive home.
Peru had set out to conduct a damage-limitation exercise. He fielded a line of three center-backs and four in midfield, to isolate Gianluca Lapadula, who was effectively 5-4-1. But what else could coach Ricardo Gareca do? He was leading a Peashooter into a knife fight. With star performer Andre Carrillo suspended, it was hard to see how he could hurt Brazil’s tight defense. But if it was easy for Gareka to feel sorry, then the coach was not feeling sorry for himself. He made changes at intervals that changed the game, giving further evidence of the great work he did with the limited resources available to a coach of the Peruvian national team.
Gareka’s team always looks well trained. They specialize in combining short passes, drawing in the opposition and then switching the play to the other flank. They know what they are trying to do. And here with a tweak and a tweak, Gareka managed to send out a team that surprisingly did better in the second half. He had seen that there was no need for three centre-backs. The problem was over the field, and so he took off a defender and focused on disrupting the passing circuit between Neymar and Paqueta.
Suddenly, Brazil was being forced to back down.
Razel Garcia came on at half time and made an impact in the left side of midfield. And a brilliant ball from Yoshimar Yotun gave Lapadula a run to Thiago Silva, cut inside him and made a fine save from Ederson in the Brazilian goal.
It was a moment that must have worried Tait, who now has to make a decision ahead of Saturday’s final. Eder Militao has always had a long-term plan to partner Marquinhos at the center of defense at next year’s World Cup – and Militao’s recent form for Real Madrid has accelerated that process. Will Militao come to the finals? Silva was beaten relatively easily by Lapadula – and while he has played in this tournament, Brazil has not been able to apply the pressure with as much intensity. It was definitely a factor in the second half against Peru. Tait spent a lot of time yelling at his team to play, but Peru was comfortable enough to do most of the game, without the high pressure.
Peru will be back for Friday’s third-place playoff – a chance to give Garcia an extended run and youngsters with a long eye on the likes of Marcos López, Jilmar Lora and Martín Tavara, who all came off the bench in Brazil. Italy-born Lapadula Russo, 31, is the only person to have entered the starting line-up since 2018, and if they are going to fight for a place in Qatar next year, there should be more renewals and competition for places.
Meanwhile, Brazil wait a day to find out who they will face in Saturday’s decider. As he left the field, Neymar made it clear which opponent he would face.
“I want Argentina,” he said, and outside Colombia, the weight of global opinion is probably in his favor.