Brazil 1-1 Colombia: Player ratings as Brazil settle for second place in Group D

Colombia extended their unbeaten streak to 26 games as Nestor Lorenzo's men held Brazil and Vinicius Jr. to a 1-1 draw in which the Selecao looked anything but convincing.

Brazil came into the match against Colombia in second place of Group D, knowing they had to leave Santa Clara with all three points to top the group and avoid Uruguay in the Copa America 2024 quarter-finals. After his squad secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Paraguay, Dorival Junior only made one change to his starting XI, replacing Savio with Raphinha, who opened the scoring 12 minutes in.

However, Daniel Munoz's equalizer just before the interval, keeping Colombia top of the standings and handing Brazil a tough test against Uruguay.

How the game unfolded

Brazil and Colombia traded blows in the opening ten minutes of the match, playing end to end with high intensity and crunching tackles. The first real chance for either side came in the eighth minute when James Rodriguez sent a dangerous free kick off the crossbar from 30 yards out. Brazil got the chance to answer with a free kick of their own just four minutes later; Raphinha scoring off a brilliant left-footed strike that curled over Colombia's wall and into the top right corner of the net past an outstretched Camilo Vargas.

Colombia thought they had found an equalizer in the 20th minute off a header from Davinson Sanchez, but the flag was up. Los Cafeteros did not take their foot of the gas and continued searching for a breakthrough against Brazil's backline, enjoying prolonged spells of possession. It was Munoz who finally beat Alisson in first-half stoppage time after Jhon Cordoba drew three defenders on him at the top of the box, leaving the right-back unmarked 12 yards out to slot home an easy goal.

The second half lacked the urgent pace of the first 45 minutes. Tied at 1-1, both sides fought to find a winner, but their half-chances posed no real issues for Alisson or Vargas for almost the entire half. Colombia, though, seemed to get a second wind with just ten minutes left in the match. Luis Diaz played a brilliant cross to an unmarked Rafael Santos Borre at the far post, but the substitute skied the chance.

Brazil were lucky to come away from the match with one point, especially after the Selecao failed to create any dangerous scoring chances in the second half. Dorival Junior's squad certainly did not look like a team that needed to win to finish atop their group.

Brazil player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Alisson - 6/10 - Alisson's comfortable games against Costa Rica and Paraguay were distant memories as the Liverpool keeper had to be at his best to deny Colombia from scoring multiple goals. A cruel deflection beat him in the first half, and he had some help from the woodwork, but Alisson stood tall when he needed against Colombia's 13 shots.

RB: Danilo - 6/10 - Danilo worked well with Raphinha to silence Luis Diaz, a man who has had an excellent tournament so far. The right-back was not active in Brazil's attack, though, and failed to create any scoring opportunities.

CB: Marquinhos - 6/10 - Marquinhos had his best game of the tournament so far, committing tackle after tackle to stop Colombia's speedy attack. Colombia surely would have scored more than one goal had it not been for the PSG defender.

CB: Eder Militao - 6/10 - Militao covered great ground, often finding himself forced to drift wide and help shut down Diaz in the final third. The Real Madrid man was also instrumental in defending Colombia's numerous set pieces.

LB: Wendell - 5/10 - Wendell was caught out several times, including on Colombia's goal, and had to resort to fouling to keep Cordoba from blowing by him on the left flank.

DM: Joao Gomes - 5/10 - Gomes did his best to battle Colombia's physicality, even earning a yellow card for his (poor) efforts, but the midfielder was not nearly as impactful as he was in Brazil's first two matches. He was an extra body to help his backline defend, but did nothing to link up with his attack.

DM: Bruno Guimaraes - 5/10 - Guimaraes spent most of his night chasing after James Rodriguez and co., and failed to help his side maintain possession or push the ball forward.

RM: Raphinha - 7/10 - After getting benched against Paraguay, Raphinha came out tonight with something to prove, winning his all-important matchup with Deiver Machado and scoring Brazil's only goal with a near-perfect free kick.

AM: Lucas Paqueta - 5/10 - Paqueta facilitated many of Brazil's chances against Paraguay, but the midfielder lacked creativity tonight and was partially at fault for Colombia's only goal after not tracking Munoz. Paqueta was subbed off at halftime.

LM: Vinicius Junior - 6/10 - Vini Jr. had a frustrating night. The winger easily out-classed Munoz with the ball at his feet, but he either lacked the final product or was fouled; in fact, he should have drawn a penalty in the first half, but the referee and VAR had other plans. Vini Jr. was also booked, earning his second yellow of the tournament, and therefore will be suspended in the quarter-finals.

ST: Rodrygo - 5/10 - Rodrygo was so quiet up top for Brazil that the forward had to continually drop deep into the midfield to get some touches. The Real Madrid player came off in the 74th minute.

Substitutes

SUB: Andreas Pereira - 5/10 - Pereira came on at halftime for Paqueta, but like Brazil's other midfielders, the substitute was fairly invisible beyond a few costly giveaways.

SUB: Ederson - 5/10 - Ederson was beat by virtually every Colombian player he tried marking in his short time on the pitch.

SUB: Savio - 6/10 - Savio was the best of Brazil's substitutes, but even his speed and creativity could not invigorate Brazil's lackluster attack.

SUB: Douglas Luiz - N/A - Douglas Luiz came on in the 86th minute, earning a standard five.

SUB: Endrick - N/A - Endrick was only given four minutes plus stoppage time to try to help Brazil find a winner, but even the wonderkid could not find a second for Selecao.

Dorival Junior - 6/10 - Dorival Junior's decision to start Raphinha over Savio might seem like it paid off - the winger did score Brazil's only goal - but the manager arguably still should have given the Girona forward the start. Raphinha, Rodrygo, and Vini Jr. looked aimless in the final third, just like they had in Brazil's opener against Costa Rica. The front three created very little scoring opportunities, and lacked the prowess and creativity they showed with Savio against Paraguay.