Luiz Suarez left in tears as Uruguay crash out of Copa America

Luis Suarez was comforted by Diego Godin after his penalty miss [Courtesy]

Luis Suarez was left in tears after he missed a penalty in Uruguay's 5-4 shootout defeat to Peru in the Copa America quarter-final on Saturday.

The Barcelona striker failed to convert the first kick of the shootout after the match ended 0-0 after 90 minutes, with his effort kept out by the chest of Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.

That miss proved decisive as all of the other players found the back of the net with their attempts before Edison Flores scored the winning penalty to complete an upset and book Peru's place in the semi-finals.

Suarez's penalty miss completed a frustrating evening for the forward, who had a second-half goal ruled out for offside.

Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Edinson Cavani also both put the ball in the net for the 15-time Copa America champions either side of half-time, only to see their efforts also chalked-off.

After watching Uruguay create the game's best chances, Oscar Tabarez will have been disappointed to lose in the circumstances as his side failed to convert any of their 12 shots at goal.

They got off to a strong start in Salvador, with Suarez heading over the bar in the 15th minute before Cavani missed from close range ten minutes later.

De Arrascaeta thought he had opened the scoring soon after with a well-struck finish into the bottom corner, only for a player to be ruled offside in the build-up - which was confirmed by VAR.

Luis Suarez and his teammates show their disappointment [Courtesy]

Cavani and Suarez both put the ball in the net after the break but were once again flagged offside with the help of VAR, sending the game to penalties.

"We were just missing a goal," said Uruguay defender Diego Godin. "We kept looking for it but it didn't come and if we had scored it would have been a different game.

"We played well, but unfortunately we've been knocked out. We couldn't score and they struck their penalties better than we did."

It was the third quarter-final of this year's tournament to be settled by a penalty shootout after Brazil and Chile beat Paraguay and Colombia respectively on spot-kicks to progress to the last four.

Peru will now face defending champions Chile in Porto Alegre on Wednesday for a place the final, where the winner will meet either the hosts or Argentina.

"I am very proud. I am speechless," Peru striker Paolo Guerrero told reporters after scoring in the shootout.

"Lots of people said we don't have the desire, some people tried to destabilise the squad but we showed what we are capable of on the pitch, we showed we have fighting spirit and courage.

"People said before Uruguay were the favourites but being favourites means nothing in football, especially in South America."