Damn way to learn a new expression!

PPAULO,

The phrase combines two English expressions:

... A day late. (... Um dia atrasado.)
And
... A dollar short. (... Um dólar a menos.)

Both of them have the same meaning, which is that something came really close to happening, but sadly didn't happen (in this case, Brazil's victory). Imagine having a real important meeting, but coming a day late, or going to a store to buy something, but being a dollar short. These expressions try to transmit this disappointment for what didn't happen.
A different expression with similar meaning is close call (the closest translation I can think of is por pouco):

I almost died! That was a close call! (Eu quase morri! Essa foi por pouco!)

The difference is that this one expression doesn't always try to transmit disappointment, being used both for good and bad close calls.

Thanks for commenting. In fact, that is a idiom, is another way to say too little too late! But, in the context we can think of "almost there" or "close but no cigar!".