Brazil vs. Uruguay: Key Takeaway for Each Side from Confederations Cup Semifinal

Brazil have booked yet another trip to the Confederations Cup final with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Uruguay in the semifinal match. 

Picking up the win was anything but easy for the victors. Fred struck first with the only goal of the first half to put Brazil up early at the 41-minute mark. But Uruguay showed resolve by scoring an equalizer at the 48-minute mark. 

The Uruguay defense played hard throughout the match but ultimately conceded the deciding goal on a Paulinho header at the 86-minute mark. 

According to Paul Carr of ESPN, the semifinal victory booked a historic third straight final for A Selecao:

With the loss Uruguay will now head to the third-place game where they will meet the loser of Thursday's semifinal match between Italy and Spain.  

Each team had its moments in Wednesday's match and found things to build upon. With about a year until both teams will be trying to win the World Cup in Brazil, the ultimate goal in play right now is to be as prepared for the big stage as much as possible. 

Here's the key takeaway that each side can use moving forward. 

Brazil Knows How to Use Home-Field Advantage

Only one team gets home-field advantage in the World Cup, so usually it means nothing. Fortunately, for Brazil, they are that one team. 

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it's a home-field advantage that has proved to be highly beneficial:

If that trend continues, the team that tries to eliminate them from the World Cup is going to have a tall order. Against a quality Uruguay side, Brazil dominated the ball in front of their home crowd, possessing it 68 percent of the time according to WhoScored.com. 

Despite a strong performance from the opposition, Brazil still found a way to win the match in somewhat convincing fashion. They even proved they could win without Neymar finding the net. He was held scoreless for the first time in the cup. 

Uruguay Must Improve Ball Movement

Uruguay played with incredible hustle and passion against the favorite, which gave themselves a chance to win. When they look back on the tape though, they will find that it was a lack of efficient ball movement that was their undoing. 

As previously mentioned, Brazil had possession for 68 percent of the match. With just 32 percent of the match to make things happen, controlling possession was a huge issue for Uruguay. 

The reason? 

Inefficient passing. According to Paul Carr of ESPN, Uruguay's passing was some of the worst in the entire tournament. Partially because they tried to accomplish too much with each pass. 

The Uruguay attack produced just nine shots throughout the match. Compared to Brazil's 19 attempts, that's a huge disadvantage. 

Moving the ball more efficiently and consistency have to be a focus for the team moving forward.