The 2024 Copa America has been a rollercoaster ride for Brazil, with one win and two draws in the group stage. As a result, Dorival Júnior and his team finished second and now have a challenging opponent in the quarterfinals: Uruguay.
Furthermore, it's not that they have to face a Uruguay team that fared well in the group stage, they have to do so without their star player, Vinicius Junior. In the match against Colombia, Real Madrid's top scorer received a yellow card, for the second time in the group stage.
Ahead of Saturday's match, Júnior announced on Friday that he intends to replace a Real Madrid player with another Real Madrid player: Endrick.
“Raphinha, Endrick, and Rodrygo,” Júnior said (h/t TyC Sports). “I hope we will continue to find the way to goals. The team's work is focused on providing forwards with scoring opportunities. It will not be different. We are losing an important player but we are getting a player who wants opportunities.”
Manchester United star Facundo Pellistri has revealed how Uruguay intend to play Enrick with the Brazilian team. Although the team is facing challenges, Brazil still has some top names that can do some damage La Celeste in attack and defense.
“We know that our style is stressful and that the games are intense,” said Pellistri (h/t TyC Sports). “We want to be protagonists and sometimes you have to be in places that don't exist so normal, but that is something to take advantage of.
“It is my role to take a position at the back because it is normal in modern football for the defenders of the opposing teams to attack. However, these are the moments of the game that you must know how to use. It will be a good game to play.”
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