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In what was arguably the shock of the tournament so far, Peru pulled off a great surprise by eliminating one of the pre-tournament favorites in Uruguay. The match finished at 0-0, but the underdogs held their nerve to progress by 5-4 on penalties.
Uruguay had impressively topped a group also containing Chile and Japan, garnering seven points from a possible nine to progress as group winners, while Peru only made it this far by virtue of their standing as one of the best third-placed teams in the group stage.
The strength in depth of Uruguay's squad coupled with their status as record winners of this competition put the odds heavily in their favor to progress, but as they say football is not mathematics and on the night, Peru threw all pre-match analysis and form books out of the window to progress to their third semifinal in the last four tournaments.
They would now go on to face Chile in the semifinal on July 3 in Porto Alegre and in this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why Peru pulled off the shock victory against Uruguay.
#3 Uruguay failed to take their chances
As stated earlier, the difference in class between Uruguay and Peru was very evident, as with proven performers like Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Diego Godin, Lucas Torreira and Jose Gimenez, Los Celeste are one of the most gifted national sides in the world.
Beyond the natural talent on display, head coach Oscar Tabarez has also molded them into a very compact side and the difference in status of both teams was evident from the blast of the whistle, as Uruguay went about stamping their authority on the match.
In total, they fashioned 10 shots at the Peruvian goal with four of those being on target, but rather tellingly, they failed to make it count in the one statistic that truly mattered.
They were able to crate a number of clear cut chances but somehow conspired to miss them, with Edinson Cavani being the worst of the lot, as the PSG forward somehow missed from six yards out in front of an open net in what is usually bound to go down as the miss of the tournament.
The reliable Diego Godin also showed a lack of composure when he blasted over from just few yards out while there were also elements of unluckiness about Uruguay as they had three goals marginally ruled out with VAR checks.
Uruguay created more than enough chances to put Peru to the sword but having failed to do so, they have no one else but themselves to blame for their elimination.
#2 Peru showed great resoluteness in the face of intense pressure
While Uruguay spent all their time peppering Pedro Gallese's goal with shot after shot, Peru had their backs to the wall for the entirety of the match, spending most of their time in possession camped inside their own half of the field, and rarely venturing in the Uruguayan territory.
In total, La Blanquirroja had a total of three shots at goal, but none of them even looked close to testing Fernando Muslera in the Uruguayan goal as Peru became the first side to go a full 90 minutes without registering a shot at goal so far in the tournament.
This was a stat they ostensibly felt comfortable with, as coach Ricardo Gareca understood his side's shortcomings and seemingly set them up in a way to absorb all the pressure they could in a bid to force the match to penalties.
Ultimately, their wish came through and with their place in the semifinal guaranteed, it came to be as a result of extreme resoluteness in the face of intense pressure.
#1 Ultimately, Luis Suarez' penalty miss proved to be the deciding factor
Prior to this quarterfinal clash, Luis Suarez had been one of the standout stars of the tournament and was in the running to be named the best player of the tournament.
The 32-year-old scored two goals and assisted one in three group stage matches to help Uruguay qualify with ease, and many were counting on him to continue his fine run of form and lead his nation to the last four for the first time since they won the tournament in 2011.
However, the reverse proved to be the case as Uruguay's record goalscorer failed to find his scoring boots for 90 minutes to send the match into penalty shootouts.
During the shootout, Luis Suarez showed great initiative in stepping to the spot first but saw his spot-kick saved as Pedro Gallese showed great reflexes to parry the penalty away.
All nine men who took penalties after Suarez buried their's in the back of the net, with the result being that Uruguay got eliminated 5-4 on penalties.
For many years, Luis Suarez has been Uruguay's savior but on a rainy night in Salvador, he failed to play his part and this played a major role in getting his nation eliminated from the Copa America, and his inconsolable countenance at the end of the match showed that he knew it.
