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Paraguay’s Junior Alonso, right, and Brazil’s Gabriel Jesus battle for the ball during a Copa America quarterfinal football match at the Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil on June 27. (AP/PTI)[/caption]
Porto Alegre (Brazil), June 28 (IANS): Brazil has qualified for the Copa America 2019 semi-finals after winning 4-3 in the penalty shootout against Paraguay following a match where neither team managed to score.
On the Brazilian side, Willian, Marquinhos, Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus managed to convert their penalties in the shootout, with the latter landing the winning shot on Thursday night, reports Efe news.
For Paraguay, Gustavo Gomez missed the first shot while Miguel Almiron, Bruno Valdez and Rodrigo Rojas managed to shoot into the net. However, Derlis Gonzalez missed the last attempt, which led to Brazil's victory.
The highlights of the match were the impressive performance of the Paraguayan goalkeeper Roberto "Gatito" Fernandez and Fabian Balbuena being given the red card for knocking down Firmino in the 58th minute.
Paraguay retreated from that moment back into its own half of the pitch and attempted to maintain an agonizing defence against the repeated attacks by Brazil. Willian hit the post in the 90th minute.
Since the 90-minute match ended without any goals, the sides went straight to the shootout to determine the winner.
According to the tournament's rules, the traditional 30-minute overtime following a draw does not apply until the semi-finals.