Penalty shootout victory over Brazil was winning in Uruguayan style, says Bielsa

Marcelo Bielsa is renowned for his free-flowing attacking football, but with a man down, Uruguay had to defend resolutely against Brazil.

Uruguay showed their character and the national team's "style" in their penalty shootout win over Brazil, so says Marcelo Bielsa.

Fifteen-time Copa America champions Uruguay progressed to the semi-finals at Brazil's expense with a 4-2 victory in the shootout after a 0-0 draw in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Uruguay, who have quickly adapted to Bielsa's full-throttle attacking approach, had to play out the last 20 minutes with 10 men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off for a lunge on Rodrygo.

It meant the usual offensive tactics had to make way for defensive ones, though from Nandez's red card onwards, Uruguay limited Brazil to just two attempts.

"Everything that happens, happens Uruguayan style, because the players are the ones that give their all to the team," Bielsa said.

"It was a match with very little goal opportunities, highly contested, very close, even with very little changes in possession.

"When we were one man down, we decided to dedicate ourselves to defending in our half.

"So holding on to that result as the Uruguayan team did shows the profile of Uruguayan football.

"They were very calm in the penalty shootout that demands not only accuracy but also character."

Uruguay have now kept three successive clean sheets, while they limited Brazil to 0.58 expected goals (xG), and their defensive resilience has pleased Bielsa.

"I am a bit more drawn to the offensive than the defensive game, but in a match that was as tight as this one, we created one more opportunity than our opponent and we defended well," Bielsa added.

"I do think that defensively, not because I achieved it but because the players are inherently good at defending, that they are very good at keeping a clean sheet."

This is the first time Uruguay have reached the semi-finals of the Copa America since the last time they won the trophy in 2011.

La Celeste had endured three consecutive quarter-final appearances without advancing, with two of those being decided by penalties (2019 and 2021).

Uruguay will face in-form Colombia, who hammered Paraguay 5-0, in the last four.