Defender Nahitan Nandez was shown a red card in the 74th minute but Uruguay held off the Brazilian attack to take the game to extra 30 minutes and then to penalties. Real Madrid defender Eder Miliato and star midfielder Douglas Luiz missed penalties for Brazil.
The defending champions Argentina will clash against the debutant Canada in the opening match of the 48th edition of Copa America on June 20. The United States of America is hosting a 16-team tournament with some of the biggest names in the football world clashing for the silverware.
The legendary Barcelona defender was found guilty after a three-day trial in Barcelona on Thursday where he was sentenced to a year, six month jail term for sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona on December 31, 2023.
"I think we (left) did that to calm things down a bit. There could have been a disaster. When everything calmed down we decided to ask how everyone was, to find out and then we went out," Lionel Messi said after the game at the Maracana.
"It's a very sad moment, the worst. I know I'm strong but this time I'm going to need my family and friends even more. It's not easy to go through injury and surgery. Imagine going through it all again after 4 months of recovery," Neymar said on Thursday.
Brazil's legend Pele died battling Cancer in Brazil's capital Sao Paulo. The legendary star shattered numerous records in his 22-year-long career for the Brazil national team and his club Santos.
FIFA World Cup 2022: Brazil won their first match of the World Cup against Serbia by 2-0. They are set to face Switzerland and Cameroon in the next group stage matches. Neymar has been ruled out of the group stage matches.
Casemiro opened the scoring by tapping into an empty net in the sixth minute for Brazil before Ecuador equalised in the 75th minute with a header by Felix Torres.
With World Cup spots secured, Brazil are in Ecuador with the aim to give their fringe players some game time; Argentina will be hoping Dybala finds his scoring boots as they travel to Chile.
Second-place Argentina qualified after Chile lost 2-0 at home to third-place Ecuador.
Lionel Messi will play for Argentina when they face Brazil on Tuesday in World Cup qualifier while Neymar will miss out because of left thigh pains.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said Monday that Messi, who has been bothered by a knee injury, will play in San Juan in a match that could earn the team a spot in next year's World Cup.
Argentina can secure a World Cup spot if it beats Brazil and if two of three other teams — Uruguay, Chile and Colombia — fail to win but will have to do so without injured Lionel Messi.
Brazil has 31 points and Argentina has 25 from 11 matches — their encounter in September was bizarrely suspended after seven minutes of play because of concerns from authorities over breaches of COVID-19 protocols.
Leaders Brazil easily defeated Uruguay 4-1 in their South American World Cup qualifying match while second-place Argentina beat Peru 1-0 a few hours earlier and are also close to clinching a direct qualifying berth.
Lionel Messi was among the scorers as Argentina beat rival Uruguay 3-0, hours after Brazil's run of consecutive wins in South American World Cup qualifying ended in a 0-0 with Colombia.
Leaders Brazil and second-place Argentina had uninspiring performances in their World Cup qualifying matches on Thursday, but gained key competition points.
The president of the Brazilian football confederation was suspended for 21 months as a sexual harassment case against him proceeds.
Brazil's squad for three World Cup qualifiers, including the Uruguay game and matches at Venezuela and Colombia, will be announced on Friday.
Just minutes into their match on Sunday, a Brazilian health official entered the pitch to remove four Argentina players.
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