Copa América: Uruguay beats Brazil 4-2 in penalty kicks and will play in the semifinals against Colombia

After a dog-eat-dog duel, Uruguay defeated Brazil 4-2 on Saturday in a penalty shootout (0-0 in regulation time) and qualified for the semifinals of the Copa America.  They will face Colombia, who earlier in the day clobbered Panama 5-0 with a stellar performance by James Rodriguez.

Goalkeeper Sergio Rochet was the hero of the day after protecting the goal from the first penalty kick by Éder Militao. Earlier, midfielder Federico Valverde had scored the first goal with a confident shot.

Finally Douglas Luiz was the one who doomed his team after smashing the third penalty kick into the goalpost, leaving Uruguay with a double match point to seal the shootout.

Although Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez also missed a shot, Manuel Ugarte managed to change the penalty kick into a goal, which is the fifth penalty of the series.  This gave Marcelo Bielsa's team the victory at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (United States).

The Uruguayan team, as known as the "charrúas," will compete against Colombia in the finals on July 10 at the Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina.

Thanks to their solid performance, the Colombian soccer team is shaping up as the favorite of the match, despite the fact that they will face one of the biggest champions of the competition and one of the strongest and most solid teams of the entire tournament.