Brazil is headed to the Confederations Cup final on Sunday, thanks to an 86th minute winner from Paulinho. They struggled against Uruguay, but did enough to come away with a 2-1 victory.
Brazil vs. Uruguay, 2013 Confederations Cup: Final score 2-1, Paulinho the hero
It wasn’t pretty, but Brazil did enough to get by South American rivals Uruguay and sail into the Confederations Cup final.
Uruguay sat back for the entirety of the first half and were light on chances as a result, but were gifted a good one in the 13th minute on a set piece, when David Luiz tugged down Diego Godin in the box. Referee Enrique Osses pointed to the penalty spot, but Diego Forlan's attempt was saved brilliantly by Julio Cesar to keep the score level at 0-0.
With the Uruguayans keeping men behind the ball and defending deep, Brazil struggled to get shots on target, but they took the Uruguay defense apart with a bit of a direct move in the 41st minute. Paulinho played a ball over the top for Neymar, whose attempt on goal was parried away by Fernando Muslera. Unfortunately for Muslera, it fell right to Fred, who finished to put Brazil up 1-0.
It was tough to see an easy way back into the game for the Uruguayans, but they were provided yet another just three minutes into the second half. After Luis Suarez had an attempt blocked, Brazil's defense failed to clear and handed Uruguay a chance to score. Thiago Silva played a terrible risky pass to Marcelo in his own penalty area, which Edinson Cavani intercepted before finishing past Julio Cesar with a low shot to the far post.
Brazil was very much on the front foot until the end of the match, but they struggled to find a winner. Bernard and Hernanes came on as substitutes and provided a spark, but Brazil needed a set piece to find the winning goal. It came on a corner from Neymar, which found Paulinho at the back post. Martin Caceres lost the Brazilian midfielder, who powered a header into the back of the net.
Uruguay pushed back and had a corner in the last minute of stoppage time, but never tested Julio Cesar as Brazil held on to win.
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