It wasn't the result we wanted: Raphinha

Brazil played out an action-packed 1-1 draw with Colombia in California this morning to set up a mouth-watering Copa America quarterfinal against Uruguay.

Brazil goalscorer Raphinha insisted the five-time world champions would be unfazed at the prospect of playing Uruguay.

"Our team is evolving with each game, with each training session and we think we're on the right track," Raphinha said.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't the result we wanted, and it wasn't the position that we wanted to qualify for the quarter-finals in. But whoever wants to be champion shouldn't be worrying about who they play in the next round; we have to be prepared for anyone. If we want to win this competition we have to be prepared to play our best," he continued.

Brazil defender Marquinhos said the team are not firing on all cylinders yet.

"We have to be honest with ourselves, we still have a lot to grow, a lot to improve, especially in these big games," he added.

The match between Colombia, unbeaten since March 2022, and five-times World Cup winners Brazil lived up to its firecracker billing as the two sides tore into each other straight from the kickoff.

In a frantic first fifteen minutes at Levi's Stadium, Vinicius Jr was shown a yellow card after accidentally striking James Rodriguez while tussling over a loose ball, a booking which rules the winger out of the Uruguay match.

Rodriguez went within inches of scoring the opener as he clipped the crossbar from the resulting free kick.

But he was upstaged in the 12th minute by Raphinha, who whipped a sublime free kick of his own into the top corner to give Brazil the lead.

Colombia thought they had equalised when Davinson Sanchez headed home Rodriguez's dangerous cross into the box but the goal was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check.

Brazil claimed for a penalty in the 42nd minute when Munoz brought down Vinicius in the box but television replays showed the Colombia defender got a touch on the ball.

Colombia striker Jhon Cordoba then found a pocket of space on the edge of the area and played a brilliant through ball to Munoz, who rifled his effort into the net to level the scores in first-half stoppage time.

Despite the searing California heat neither side let the intensity drop after the break and Raphinha came close to scoring from another free kick in the 59th minute, firing just wide of the post.

Colombia also had their chances to score in the second half, the best of which fell to substitute Rafael Borre, who blazed a shot over the crossbar from close range.

Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas had to be sharp to keep out Brazil substitute Andreas Pereira's dipping long-range effort deep into stoppage time.