Brazil Beat Peru to Win Copa América Title

Date: 08 July 2019 - 21:47

News ID: ۶۷۸۶۴

RIO DE JANEIR (AP) — Brazil didn't need Neymar to win another Copa América title at home.
With their injured star watching from the stands at a packed Maracan? Stadium on Sunday, Brazil beat Peru 3-1 to win their first South American title since 2007.
It was Neymar's replacement, Everton, who led the team to victory, scoring a goal and setting up another to give Brazil their ninth Copa América trophy, and fifth at home.
Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison also scored for Brazil, which have won the title every time they hosted the tournament.
Everton was named player of the final and also finished as one of the tournament's top scorers with three goals. Brazil's veteran right back Dani Alves was voted player of the tournament.
Neymar and his son sat close to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro among the crowd of nearly 70,000 at the Maracan?.
Brazilian fans had some reason to worry after Gabriel Jesus was sent off in the 70th minute because of a second yellow card, but Peru couldn't pull off one last upset after eliminating Uruguay in the quarterfinals and two-time defending champion Chile in the semifinals.
"Brazil deserved the victory," Peru coach Ricardo Gareca said. "We played better than we did in the previous match. We have improved as a team. We still have to improve more, but we are on the right track."
Peru, which had been routed 5-0 by Brazil in the group stage and barely avoided early elimination, were trying to win their first Copa América trophy since 1975 and just their second overall. It hadn't returned to the final since '75.
The victory helped Brazil to regain the confidence of some supporters following their quarterfinal exit at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It will also ease some of the pressure on coach Tite, who had been criticized for his selections and the team's lackluster performances.
Brazil hadn't made it past the quarterfinals of the Copa América since beating Argentina 3-0 in the 2007 final in Venezuela. It didn't even get past the group stage in 2016.
********Brazil's Dani Alves lifts up the trophy after winning the final soccer match of the Copa America against Peru at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 7, 2019.