Paraguay made it very tough for Brazil, as it took a penalty shootout for the hosts to go further.
The final scoreline at fulltime was 0-0, so the game was taken to a penalty shootout. Brazil won it 4-3 with an important save from Allison.
Paraguay played 10 men as a red card was shown to Fabian Balbuena who was sent off for fouling Roberto Firmino just a few inches outside the penalty box in the 58th minute. The rest of the game went for Paraguay defending with the 10 men left on the pitch for them, while the Brazilians attacked continuously,
The first half saw both sides attacking and creating chances while in the second half Brazil attacked and the 10 men Paraguay sat back and defended. Paraguay took 3 yellow cards in the first half itself and also a red card in the opening ten minutes of the second half. The subsequent free-kick awarded after the red card was well struck by Dani Alves and only missed by a few inches.
Brazil created a lot of clear changes and only lacked a cutting decisive finishing edge.
The game went on to penalties after ninety minutes of play and seven minutes stoppage time play. Allison saved a penalty and one was struck wide away by the Paraguayans. However, Roberto Firmino was the only Brazil player to miss his spot kick and Brazil proceeded with a 4-3 win over penalties.
Gabriel Jesus who missed his last penalty against Peru said “In the last game I didn’t look at the keeper and I hit it hard straight away and the goalie made a good save,”
“Today I did it my usual way, I looked calmly at the keeper and I could see him moving to the left and I side-footed it the other way.”
Brazil manager Tite blamed the pitch for the result. He was not happy with the uneven surfaces on the ground. “It’s absurd that at this high level we are playing on pitches where it is difficult to control the ball,” Tite told reporters after the match.
“Players need three touches to control it. It’s absurd.”
Brazil will face either Argentina or Venezuela in a semi-final in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday, while Paraguay are knocked out of the Copa America 2019.