Entering the final, Brazil and Peru both used their strongest squads and there were no changes compared to the semi-finals. On the Brazilian side, Everton continued to start alongside Gabriel Jesus and Firmino.
Meanwhile, veteran General Paolo Guerrero leads the Peruvian attack. After a disastrous 0-5 defeat in the group stage, despite being rated lower, the Peruvian players entered the match in surprise with the intention of heading the home team. Therefore, Brazil encountered some difficulties in the early stages of the 46th Copa America final.
Peru had a number of situations where they had stolen the ball to counterattack but could not take advantage of the opportunity. Enthusiastically pushing up, Peru had to pay a heavy price in the 15th minute. From a quick attack, Gabriel Jesus escaped down the right wing before crossing into Everton to shoot past Pedro Gallese in an open position. In this phase, the Peruvian defenders completely forgot Everton.
After scoring the opening goal, Brazil completely dominated the game with the ball possession rate at times reaching 62% and continuously having dangerous finishing situations. In the 24th minute, the score was almost 2-0 if Coutinho's shot did not trip wide of the post. Meanwhile, Peru can only rely on set pieces such as free kicks or corners. However, their final shots are often inaccurate.
At the end of the first half, a surprise occurred when Thiago Silva let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area, causing Brazil to award a penalty in the 43rd minute. On the 11m mark, Paolo Guerrero coolly deceived Alisson into scoring an equalizer for Peru.
However, just 1 minute later, Firmino tried to steal the ball right in Peru's half. After that, Arthur dribbled the ball intelligently and passed the ball to Gabriel Jesus in an extremely favorable position. The Man City striker had a decisive finish to increase the score to 2-1 right before the end of the first half.
In the second half, Brazil continued to press the field and created many good opportunities. However, their stars have not taken advantage of them. Both Coutinho and Firmino were very unlucky in this match. While in charge of the game, Brazil unexpectedly suffered a big loss when Gabriel Jesus received a second yellow card and was sent off in the 70th minute.
Playing with one more player, Peru rushed forward to find an equalizer. The final minutes were therefore extremely tense. Brazil was forced to defend, while Peru kept stuffing the ball into the home team's penalty area to seek opportunities. At this time, Brazil's class has spoken out. Not only stood firm, Selecao also scored the final goal against their opponent in the 90th minute. After Everton were fouled in the box, substitute Richarlison easily scored to seal a 3-1 victory for Brazil.
Thus, after 12 years (2007), the Selecao has just become the king of South American football. Not only was Brazil crowned at home, it also won all other individual titles including; Best Young Player awarded to Everton, Best Goalkeeper awarded to Alisson, Best Player awarded to Dani Alves and Best Fair-play Team.
