Brazil advances to Copa America final, Uruguay out

Brazil, coached by Carlos Dunga, is set to play the final Sunday in Maracaibo against the winner of the semifinal match between Argentina and Mexico on Wednesday.

 In Tuesday's game, also in Maracaibo, Brazil and Uruguay drew 2-2 over the 90 minutes of play with penalties to decide on the finalist. Uruguay missed first when it came to sudden death, giving Brazil the the vital 5-4 semi-final win.

 In the first half of the match, Brazilian right-back Maicon opened the score in the 13th minute.

 Two minutes later the lighting system in the stadium had problems, when one of four lighting towers stopped working. Play resumed 13 minutes later, with the problem still not solved, although the lights were back to normal by half-time.

 Uruguay put a lot of pressure on the Brazilian goal in the first half, in particular through Alvaro Recoba and Diego Forlan, but Brazilian keeper Doni responded well.

 However, 10 minutes before half-time Doni blocked a ball and it fell for Forlan to equalize 1-1.

 Brazil again took the lead in the 40th minute as Julio Baptista took advantage of a defensive mistake.

 In the 69th minute, Uruguay's veteran striker Sebastian Abreu, who substituted for Recoba at half-time, evened the score to 2-2.

 Star Robinho, very active so far throughout the Copa America, was hardly noticed in Brazil's lacklustre game until he easily dispatched the first penalty past Fabian Carini.         Uruguay captain Diego Lugano was the unfortunate player to miss in the sudden death, giving Brazil the win.

 The third-place play-off will be played in Caracas on Saturday between Uruguay and the loser of Wednesday's semi-final.//dpa