The past few games in the Copa America have been full of action. We have seen players lose their calm with USMNT’s Timothy Weah picking up a red card in the first half of the clash against Panama that saw his team suffer an upset defeat. The narrative continued this Saturday as this time around it was Paraguay’s Andres Cubas, who received a straight red card following his horror tackle on Douglas Luiz.
Cubas and Luiz fought for control of the ball in the closing minutes of the second half. With Luiz getting an upper hand over the opposition midfielder, Cubas took the Aston Villa star down, attempting to block him. However, his frustrations got the better of him as he kicked at the downed Luiz, which saw Brazilian players rush to push him away from their teammate.
Match referee Piero Maza did not hesitate to book the player for his offense as he pulled out the red card from his pocket to send Cubas off the field. The 2024 edition of the Copa America has been quite heated so far with over 5 red cards already dished out in two match weeks.
READ MORE: Paraguay vs Brazil Player Ratings as Vinicius Junior bags brace in Copa America clash
Vinicius Jr shines as Brazil cruises past Paraguay
Brazil made a strong comeback earlier tonight against Paraguay following the surprise 1-1 draw against Costa Rica in their opener. Vinicius Jr. was the star of the show for his team, with the player netting a stunning brace to help his team register a 4-1 win. The three points now put Brazil second in the standings behind group leaders Colombia, who have won both their games so far in the competition.
While the win is a big plus for Brazil, the team is yet to confirm their place in the knockouts. The Selecao needs to ensure they at least get a draw against Colombia in their final fixture to go through into the quarterfinals. Costa Rica also has a chance to go through, but they will need to turn around a 6 goal difference if they want to turn things around.