Dourival, Brazil coach: Wrong call decided the game; Only the referee and VAR thought it wasn’t a penalty

The Brazilian team drew 1-1 with Colombia in their final group stage match of the Copa América, securing their position as second in Group D and setting up a quarter-final clash against Group C winners Uruguay. After the match, Brazil’s coach Dourival acknowledged some issues but was unhappy with the referee’s decisions.

In his post-match press conference, Dourival pointed out that Brazil struggled in transitioning from defense to attack. “We had difficulties handling the ball today. The opposition pressed very aggressively in our final third. Our transitions from defense to attack were not good enough, and we need to analyze this. Colombia presented us with challenges we haven’t faced before – they are a different kind of opponent, having gone 25 games unbeaten, which put extra pressure on us.”

Dourival then discussed the missed penalty for Vinícius just before halftime and the yellow card he received only six minutes into the game, ruling him out of the quarter-final. “We were leading 1-0, and a decision that should have given us a two-goal advantage took away our chance to control the match. We kept fighting, but errors are part of the game, and at some point, we might face more significant challenges. The equalizer shortly after the non-penalty completely changed the game, in my view, a decisive moment. I’m not inventing anything; the truth is that Brazil was affected. Only the referee and the VAR thought it wasn’t a penalty. Had we extended our lead, Colombia would have been forced to push forward more, leaving more spaces open.”

Dourival emphasized that the national team is still in a building phase, as it’s only his seventh game in charge, and thus fluctuations are expected. However, he stressed that faith in future progress mustn’t be lost: “There’s a process involved, and no one can skip steps, so there will be matches like the one against Costa Rica, good moments like against Paraguay, and less smooth ones like against Colombia. I hope the team continues to grow, understanding these ups and downs, and improves through training and matches. We’ve had good spells but need more consistency, and progress will become more evident as the tournament progresses.”

The Copa América quarter-final between Brazil and Uruguay will take place on July 7 at 9 PM in Las Vegas.