Signing off
That’s all for now in the fresh wake of a famous win for Colombia, which find themselves back in the mix for the knockout stage. Here’s a look at how things stand in a group that, incredibly, finds Venezuela on top with a game in hand.
Check back shortly for a match report. Thanks for following along with us!
One last look at Murillo’s 36th-minute winner
What a match
A deserved win for Colombia today. Brazil did not answer the bell and see their 11-match winning streak come to an end. Chris Nemeh with the obvious question via email:
If it’s for a headbutt and therefore violent conduct could it mean more than one game out?
I’d say it’s likely, though not official, that Neymar would miss the quarter-final if Brazil qualify.
Red cards for Neymar and Bacca
Some extracurriculars after the final whistle and the referee shows red to both Neymar and Bacca – nearly chasing Neymar into the tunnel to do so. The red for Neymar is virtually meaningless since he was already missing the next match due to his second yellow accrued today.
Updated
Full-time: Brazil 0-1 Colombia
And there’s the final whistle! Colombia have secured the desperately needed points and their first win over Brazil since 1991.
90 min+4: Brazil with a last-gasp run for an equalizer. Through pass to Costa is off target and cleared past midfield, but Brazil maintain possession with less than a minute remaining on the unofficial clock. And Brazil win a corner!
90 min+3: Bacca and Dani Alves getting into it now away from the ball.
90 min+1: Brazil with possession in the final third. Colombian defenders closing in, desperate to close out the win and the precious three points. Now a foul against Colombia. Some extracurriculars here with Neymar – already on a yellow – in the thick of it.
90 min: The fourth official signals for four (!) minutes of stoppage time.
89 min: James Rodriguez very nearly doubled Colombia’s pleasure with a shot to the far post that Jefferson barely got a hand on. What an exclamation point that might have been.
86 min: Colombia dispossessed in counter-attack and a gorgeously struck long ball lands just inches too far for Neymar. A goal kick for Colombia. Brazil look out of ideas.
84 min: Coutinho takes a flyer from range, but his right-footed shot sails wide. Brazil running out of carpet here.
83 min: Cuardrado’s long-range effort directed toward James is repelled and now Brazil are on the move.
81 min: Coutinho delivers a forearm shiver to Zuniga near midfield, drawing a whistle. A free kick here for Colombia at a distance.
79 min: Colombia drawing tantalizingly close to a famous win as the pace seems to have slowed a bit. Meija now coming in for Valencia, the third and final substitution.
76 min: For Colombia, Bacca in for Teófilo Gutiérrez.
75 min: Brazil makes third and final sub: Diego Tardelli in for Elias.
74 min: Brazil corner is cleared harmlessly by Colombia.
70 min: Colombia now 20 minutes away from their first win over Brazil since the 1991 Copa America. That was before James Rodriguez was born.
69 min: Douglas Costa in for Willian, Brazil’s second substitution, entering to groans amid what sounds like a crowd 90-10 in favor of Colombia.
Updated
68 min: Falcao now supine on the pitch. Looks tired.
67 min: Brazil doing a bit better here keeping possession but yet to make the critical final pass or even the penultimate pass. Colombia’s back four up to the task throughout the night.
66 min: Here’s Neymar getting his hand stepped on moments ago.
65 min: Looks like Ibarbo will be coming in for Colombia.
64 min: Corner for Brazil. Cleared easily by Colombia.
62 min: Colombia a bit sloppy here, but Brazil not organized enough to take advantage. Neymar hacked down badly by Cuardrado.
60 min: A half hour from full-time and Colombia still have Brazil on their back heel, though Los Cafeteros are lucky to be on top after that brutal miss by Firmino moments ago.
57 min: Brazil on the attack. Confusion in the back as a Murillo back pass to the keeper is struck too lightly. Ball falls to Firmino in front of a gaping wide net and he fails to finish! An egregious miss by Brazil. How did Firmino miss there?
55 min: A shot from Falcao from outside the area is cleared by a Brazilian defender giving Colombia a corner kick. James’s attempt is collected by Jefferson and Brazil will start over again.
54 min: Now it’s a free kick for Brazil from a good distance. Neymar to take it. Easily corralled by Ospina.
53 min: Another free kick for Colombia. James stands over the ball, roughly 30 yards from the net, but his effort is headed safely clear.
51 min: A shot here by Cuadrado. Nearly finds the back of the net! Just inches wide. Colombia far more assertive in attack here.
50 min: Colombia threatening again, ball in the Brazil area, but it’s cleared and now Brazil are on the counter-attack.
48 min: Coutinho mades his presence felt with a foul along the right flank, but Brazil takes back possession and the ball is fired to Neymar along the right side. He uncorks a right-footed shot across the goal to the far post but it’s far wide.
Updated
47 min: Colombia almost immediately threatening with James in possession the area looking for an open team-mate, but none emerges and he’s dispossessed.
46 min: We’re underway here in the second half. Dunga has made one substitution at half-time: Coutinho in for Fred.
Second half to begin shortly
The players are out of the tunnel with the second half just moments away.
Fouls
Eleven for Brazil, eight for Colombia. I’m talking chippy.
The Force is strong with this one
Peter Oh checks back in, via email, with a series of Star Wars puns:
It looks like the Brazil defence have bitten off more than they can chew. Bacca should come on for Colombia! It’s been a millennium, Falcao, since you last scored!
We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life.
Another point of view
Here’s how Gene Salorio saw the first half, via email:
great entertainment but sloppy. fast-paced end-to-end but bad touches, misplayed passes, loose fouls. like play station football. or very drunk sex.
We don’t necessarily disagree.
Half-time: Brazil 0-1 Colombia
A deserved lead for Colombia, who desperately need the points after a surprise loss to Venezuela in their opener. High-tempo action fraught with bad blood culminating with Murillo’s goal late in the session. A fascinating second half in store no doubt.
45 min+2: Murillo, the goal-scorer, down on the pitch. Looked seriously hurt the the cart out on the pitch, but he’s to his feet.
43 min: Neymar very nearly leveled the score. A gorgeous ball played in by Dani Alves to the onrushing Brazilian is headed sharply but Ospina makes the hair-trigger save. What a play. Then Neymar is shown yellow for an unintentional hand ball.
41 min: Many emails from readers, presumably Colombia supporters, urging a Jackson Martinez for Falcao swap at half-time.
39 min: Colombia nearly strikes again but Falcao misses a wide-open James. That would have been massive.
GOAL! Brazil 0-1 Colombia (Murillo, 36 min)
Another free kick for Colombia and it’s Juan Cuadrado’s cross into a scramble that lands at the foot for Jeison Murillo, who beats Jefferson. Deserved goal.
Updated
35 min: James Rodriguez to take a free kick from 40 yards out. He delivers it into the box but it’s easily cleared.
34 min: Teo down in a heap. Fernandinho shown yellow.
32 min: Free kick for Colombia from a precarious spot right outside the area. James with a classy effort that curves dangerously toward the goal but it’s batted away by Jefferson. Thrill-a-minute stuff here!
31 min: Carlos Sanchez with the ambitious effort, shooting from 30 yards and testing Jefferson. The shot is wide left but it will be a corner to Colombia.
30 min: A half-hour down. Excellent game so far. Frenetically paced with flashes of brilliance tempered by the occasional mistake.
28 min: Fred doing yeoman’s work on the left flank now for Brazil, trying to figure out a way to crack the Colombia back line. Yet with seconds Brazil are dispossessed in Colombia are halfway down the pitch. There’s no question who the more desperate team is here. Colombia playing like they’ve got their backs to the wall, which they do.
27 min: Falcao with a nifty pass to James in space right outside the area, but he takes one touch too many and a gaggle of Brazil defenders close in.
26 min: Brazil with a rare sustained attack but can’t muster a shot on net as Colombia’s back four stands tall. Now it’s Los Cafeteros on the counter-attack.
24 min: Peter chimes in with the following dispatch via email:
Colombia have a player on the pitch who is named after a Brazilian legend (Falcao). Brazil have a player on the bench who is named after an Argentinian legend and an Italian one (Diego Tardelli), and their manager’s name is the Portuguese translation of Dopey, the dwarf from Disney’s Snow White. The magic of the Copa America!
23 min: James in the middle of the pitch instigating the attack. The ball falls to Cuadrado, who fires a powerful right-footed shot that tests Jefferson but ultimately slides wide of the goal.
22 min: Brazil on the attack now but a speculative effort by Dani Alves from 30 yards out misses the mark completely.
19 min: A clattering challenge by Teo on Dani Alves warrants a booking. The ref goes to his book, but mistakenly shows the yellow to Pablo Armero. Whoops.
17 min: Another marauding run by James up the right flank, who dumps it into the area, but the attack is broken up. Nothing to show for it thus far but he’s been a handful today.
15 min: A looping long ball from 60 yards out is head back from James to an onrushing Falcao, who uncorks a right-footed shot that’s slightly mishit and sails wide right of the target.
13 min: Brazil keeping possession and probing a bit among their midfielders, then across the back four, who are pushing up a bit. Falcao and James pressing for Colombia. A long pass through from Dani Alves but it’s intercepted by a darting Colombian player and the attack is disrupted.
10 min: More jockeying in the midfield with no team winning the battle decisively. Brazil for the moment seems to have withstood Colombia’s opening flurry. A foul called against Willian. No love lost between these sides.
8 min: James takes the free kick from roughly 20 yards and it’s headed out by Colombia keeps possession. Out of bounds but Colombia ball. They’re really pressing here early. Finally Brazil is able to possess the ball and redirect it up the pitch.
6 min: Brazil now keeping the ball, gradually moving it up the field with a series of short passes, and they’re dispossessed in midfield and Colombia is on the attack. Another low pass from James into the area. Cuadrado is cut down by Fred, a foul – could have been a booking – and Colombia will have a free kick from a dangerous spot.
4 min: A nice run by James down the left flank who crosses the ball dangerously into the area but no one is there to put it on net. Colombia looking fluid and incisive here early.
3 min: First corner of the match goes to Colombia and it’s easily cleared, driven far back to Jefferson. Looks like Falcao’s had a haircut.
1 min: Already a bit chippy early as a Colombian player is cut down trying to push the ball into Brazil’s final third.
Kickoff
And following a moment of silence for former Brazil captain and World Cup winner Zito, we’re off from Santiago! Brazil in blue shirts and white shorts attacking from right to left, Colombia in their familiar yellow kits.
Updated
Here they come
The teams are emerging from the tunnel into a positively electric atmosphere at the Estadio Monumental David Arellano in Chile’s capital city. Not much longer now.
Past is prelude
Brazil have beaten Colombia in 18 of the 28 matches between the countries, losing just twice. Both teams have played down the revenge angle stemming from last year’s World Cup quarter-final: a match that saw James Rodriguez fouled every time he touched the ball and Neymar injured in retaliation. Brazil would prevail to eliminate Colombia and advance to the semis, but the loss of their talisman cost them dearly and spectacularly.
“This is not a revenge for the world cup,” Rodriguez insisted in an interview with Eurosport. “That is history.”
The teams!
Brazil: Jefferson; Dani Alves; Thiago Silva, Miranda, Filipe Luís; Fernandinho, Elias; Willian, Fred; Roberto Firmino, Neymar
Colombia: Ospina; Zuñiga, Murillo, Zapata, Armero; Cuadrado, Sanchez, Cardona, James Rodriguez; Teo, Falcao
Thiago Silva and Firmino get the call for Brazil, while David Luiz and Diego Tardelli will start on the bench. For Colombia, the only difference from the opening match against Venezuela is Gutiérrez will start instread of Bacca. Looks like they’ll be going with Falcao again, despite calls for the more in-form Jackson Martinez.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to tonight’s crucial Group C match between Brazil and Colombia at Santiago’s Estadio Monumental David Arellano.
Los Cafeteros find themselves with their backs up against it after a surprise loss to neighbors Venezuela in their opening match. They’re in desperate need of points tonight against Brazil, a revenge match after last year’s tense, foul-filled World Cup quarter-final between the sides that saw the hosts win 2-1 – but lose Neymar to a tournament-ending injury.
Brazil have recovered nicely from their nightmarish World Cup denouement to win 11 straight matches under Dunga, including a Copa America opener that saw them fall behind in the third minute to Peru, equalize almost immediately, then secure the three points with an injury-time winner from Douglas Costa.
We’ll have more including the teams shortly.
Bryan will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s what happened when Argentina met Uruguay:
Sergio Agüero’s superb diving header gave Argentina a 1-0 victory over River Plate rivals Uruguay at the Copa América on Tuesday.
Agüero met a 56th-minute cross from his Manchester City team mate Pablo Zabaleta and buried an unstoppable effort past Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera at his front post.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino was banished to the stands for arguing with the match officials after just half an hour of a stormy encounter which frequently threatened to boil over. The result left Argentina and Paraguay level at the top of Group B with four points each, ahead of Uruguay on three.
