Copa America 2019 Final: Brazil vs Peru – 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

Brazil edged past a spirited Peru side 3-1 at the Maracana Stadium in the final of the 2019 Copa America. The victory meant that the Brazilians ended their 12-year wait for a major honour with their last triumph also being the Copa America success at home in 2007.

The game was a scrappy affair and chances were at a premium. However, the hosts took the lead with the first real opening in the 15th minute when Everton smashed home from inside the box.

Though Brazil kept applying the pressure thereafter, it was the Peruvians who got the match’s next goal in the 44th minute. A shot struck Thiago Silva’s arm and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Paulo Guerrero made no mistake and sent Alisson the wrong way to restore parity.

Yet, the visitors’ joy was short-lived as Gabriel Jesus bulged the net on the stroke of half-time. The evening soon turned sour for the Manchester City striker when he was given his marching orders in the 70th minute. However, his Premier League compatriot, Richarlison, ensured Brazil got over the finish line with a penalty of his own in the 90th minute.

Here is a look at the talking points from the game:

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#5 Arthur Melo runs the show in midfield

The Brazilians came into the tournament boasting of an embarrassment of riches in the central midfield area. The hosts’ options comprised of Allan, Arthur, Casemiro and Fernandinho.

Thus, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if any of those was preferred over the others. However, as the competition progressed, it became clear that Arthur Melo was the go-to man for Tite. And boy did he rise to the occasion on Sunday.

The Barcelona midfielder started alongside Casemiro and pulled the strings for the hosts. His exemplary awareness and vision allowed him to dictate the tempo of the game. In turn, that enabled Brazil to keep Peru at bay for large periods of the match.

On numerous occasions, the midfielder asked for the ball in tight areas and wriggled his way out of trouble superbly. However, the more impressive aspect of his display was that he didn’t shirk away from responsibility on the big stage.

The above directly led to the hosts’ second goal as Arthur picked up the ball in midfield, strode purposefully towards the Peruvian goal and then played an inch-perfect pass for Jesus to finish.

Through the course of the 2018-19 season, the diminutive midfielder established himself as a crucial cog in Barcelona’s wheel and he even drew comparisons with the legendary Xavi Hernandez.

Yet, one always felt that the truest test of his character would come with Brazil at the Copa America. And now that he’s passed that examination with flying colours, not many would be doubting Arthur’s astronomical potential.

#4 Everton dazzles in the final

After the 2-0 win over Argentina in the semi-final, Tite kept faith with the same personnel and named an unchanged line-up against Peru. One of the beneficiaries of that decision was Everton, who despite being perceived as a bit-part player at the start, now had a chance to show off his talent on the greatest of occasions. And the winger didn’t disappoint.

Throughout the game, the Brazilian caused the visitors’ defence problems with his direct running and pace. Not afraid to take on the defenders, his trickery pinned the defence-line back and that enabled the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino to operate in the space thus created.

Moreover, Everton combined his brilliant approach play with an end product and he had a major hand in the 1st and 3rd goals Brazil scored.

The opener came about when the Brazilian escaped the attention of Luis Advincula and then coolly slotted Jesus’ cross past Pedro Gallese. For the 3rd goal, the winger collected the ball on the left side and then drove through the heart of Peru’s midfield. He proved to be too hot to handle for the away side and they eventually adopted unfair means to bring him to a halt. The resulting penalty was dispatched by Richarlison and that eased plenty of Brazilian nerves, especially considering they’d been reduced to ten men.

Throughout the tournament, there have been several players who have stood up to be bankable for Brazil, whether it be the mercurial Coutinho, the old war-horse Dani Alves or the indefatigable Thiago Silva. Yet, when the final came calling, arguably the most unheralded player of them all ended up having the biggest say.

And that, above all, would be the most pleasing takeaway for the hosts from the 2019 Copa America.

#3 Another Copa America game, another controversial red card

Gabriel Jesus was given his marching orders in the 70th minute

A little over 24 hours ago, there had been massive uproar with respect to the officiating on display in the game between Argentina and Chile. Lionel Messi and Gary Medel were sent off for seemingly innocuous shoves and that led to the former refusing to collect his third-place medal after the match.

Further fuel was added to the fire when the Barcelona forward alleged the referees of showing favouritism towards Brazil and indulging in acts of ‘corruption’. Though the CONMEBOL quickly reaffirmed that the above wasn’t the case, their referee for the final, Roberto Tobar didn’t particularly cover himself in any glory.

For a change, Brazil was at the receiving end of a poor refereeing decision, yet that doesn’t take anything away from the appalling standards of officiating on display. While Jesus’ first yellow card in the final was warranted, his second caution for a slight barge was bordering on being ludicrous.

Moreover, the South American referees seem to have problems working with the Video Assistant Referee. They appear to be under much more pressure and that has shown with the sheer number of indecisive decisions they’ve given. Though the VAR was installed to help the officials, at this tournament, it has certainly led to a steep fall in the standards of refereeing.

The CONMEBOL still has time to educate its referees on how best to interpret the VAR and how to use it as an additive mechanism rather than as the paramount tool. Yet, that needs to happen quickly or else they would find themselves on an extremely slippery slope.

The 2019 Copa America had plenty of moments of footballing genius. Unfortunately, though, it may now be remembered for the several farcical decisions officials came up with.

#2 Gabriel Jesus lights up the final before seeing red

From painting the streets yellow during the 2014 FIFA World Cup to leading the line at the next World Cup in Russia, Gabriel Jesus’ career has been nothing short of a fairy tale. Yet, akin to many of those fables, his story too had its fair share of thorny bits and none were as severe as the criticism he faced after last summer’s poor World Cup showing.

Unsurprisingly, the youngster found himself weighed down by the enormous expectations, some warranted and others not quite so. Consequently, his performances dipped alarmingly and he played only a fleeting role during his club’s victorious campaign in 2018-19.

Thus, when the Copa America dawned, several were out with their swords, waiting for another string of uninspiring displays. However, that was hardly the case as he almost single-handedly lifted Brazil to the top of the South American summit.

Jesus added to his goal and assist against Argentina with a similar tally on Sunday.

He first laid the ball on a plate for Everton to open the scoring and then made the net ripple himself. However, one facet of his game that has shown significant improvement at the tournament has been his approach play.

For the first goal, he collected the ball on the right flank, twisted, turned and then bamboozled Miguel Trauco with an exquisite bit of skill. The above created the requisite space for him to whip the ball in devilishly for Everton to pounce.

The second goal embodied Jesus to the tee. After Arthur had ghosted forward, the striker sensed an opportunity to get away from his marker and he did so adroitly. He stepped inside just a touch and then moved away from the defender. In the process, he had generated the time and space he needed to smash the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper.

Over the course of the tournament, there have been numerous positives for Brazil to take home. However, none would have been as satisfying as watching Jesus rediscover his mojo and enthral the audiences.

After all, he is just 22 and if fit and firing, Jesus could be Brazil’s saviour for a long, long time.

#1 Brazil bury quite a few ghosts at the Maracana

Brazil put to bed a few ghosts of their past

As soon as Brazil scraped past Paraguay in the quarter-final, all eyes turned to the Selecao’s upcoming potential encounters. A semi-final at Belo Horizonte and a potential final date at the Maracana beckoned. Incidentally, though, the venues represented the site of two of Brazil’s greatest footballing tragedies: The Maracanazo in 1950 and then the infamous 7-1 thrashing against Germany in 2014.

Hence, many were of the opinion that if Brazil were to get past both hurdles in the Copa America in 2019, they might be able to put to bed the nightmarish experiences of those evenings, to an extent. While it would be slightly optimistic to believe that a continental triumph might avenge the global humiliations of the yesteryears, it was certainly a good place for the Brazilians to start treading on the road to redemption.

On the 2nd of July, the hosts raced past Argentina and that set up a tricky encounter with Peru in the final. However, the Selecao ensured that they faced no major hiccups en route their 9th Copa America title.

During the final, there were moments when the Peruvian side was in the ascendancy. Yet, the home side held their nerve, waited for their chances and then capitalized on them. Hence, highlighting that while the current Brazilian team may not be as high on the flair quotient, it definitely is as efficient as any outfit the nation has seen this decade.

Despite the triumph, the future of their manager, Tite is still up in the air. There have been murmurs that he might be leaving his post yet that might still change, considering he has already started to right a few wrongs.

After all, the ghosts of one’s past can’t be erased in a trice. But, winning the Copa America, just a year after being panned at the World Cup, isn’t too bad a start, is it?

Edited by Raunak J