Uruguay's diligence and resilience under pressure after going a man down against Brazil in Sunday's COPA America quarterfinal victory put the team's distinctive character in the spotlight, coach Marcelo Bielsa said.
Uruguay lost Nahitan Nandez to a red card on a VAR review, which reduced their side to 10 men for the final stages of the second half, but they shut shop and defended resolutely to take the match to penalties where they prevailed 4-2.
Everything that happens, happens Uruguayan style, because the players are the ones that give their all to the team, Bielsa told reporters.
It was a match with very little goal opportunities, highly contested, very close, even with very little changes in possession. When we were one man down, we decided to dedicate ourselves to defending in our half.
So holding on to that result as the Uruguayan team did shows the profile of Uruguayan football. And they were very calm in the penalty shoot-out that demands not only accuracy but also character.
