Uruguay qualified for the quarter-finals of the Copa America as group winners. The team of national coach Marcelo Bielsa, who had to watch through suspension, won their last group match thanks to a goal discussed by Matías Olivera of the host country the United States: 0-1. The US team came out with this result and Panama beat Bolivia (1-3). Panama qualified for the quarter-finals in second place.
Before that, Uruguay was almost certain to qualify for the quarter-finals with six points and a goal difference of +7. The United States and Panama had three points with goal differences of +1 and -1. There was already a slight advantage for the United States in this regard. Team USA Uruguay were a much stronger opponent than Panama, who faced Bolivia, who were on the verge of elimination (0 points, goal difference -7).
Timothy Weah was missing for the United States. The Juventus forward was sent off against Panama (2-1 defeat) for a punch and served his first of two suspensions against Uruguay. With his absence, national coach Gregg Berhalter gave Milan midfielder Yunus Musah a starting spot. PSV Eindhoven players Ricardo Pepe and Malik Tillmans started on the bench.
According to the Copa America organization, Uruguay entered the field too late against Bolivia. And because the coach was responsible for that, Bielsa received a one-match suspension. There were no changes to the lineup compared to the 5-0 win over the Bolivians. Darwin Núñez, who had scored in his last seven (!) internationals, was surrounded by Facundo Pellistri and Maximiliano Araujo.
The first half at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City was not promising, but it was intense. The United States knew there was a good chance Panama would handle Bolivia, so they played with the intensity expected of Bolivia. All or nothing gameDespite this intense style of play, opportunities remained limited.
Pulisic’s corner failed to produce results, with Tim Ream failing to beat his direct opponent and Antonee Robinson heading the ball into the hands of former Arizona player Sergio Roche. Less than half a minute later, Robinson intercepted the ball and played it in with a fine dribble to the left where Giovanni Reyna delivered a sharp pass. Roche was there in time to deny Folarin from Balogun.
Uruguay managed to maintain control, and didn’t necessarily have to score, and waited for a USA foul, which came after half an hour of play and led to a bizarre moment. Nicolas de la Cruz was violently tackled by Chris Richards, who was shown a yellow card. Referee Kevin Ortega barely pulled Richards’ yellow card out of his shirt pocket, but allowed play to continue when Nunez quickly resumed the game.
Liverpool striker Nahitan Nandez had a chance but was denied by Tim Ream's excellent tackle just outside the goal line. The USA were furious with Rodriguez, who supposedly left the goal standing. It was Uruguay's most dangerous moment, with Nunez, Pellistri and Matias Vina looking menacing. Both teams lost players before half-time. Maxi Araujo retired after a collision, while Balogun clashed heavily with Rocher and was later replaced by Pepe.
Oliveira and our basic principle in Uruguay?? pic.twitter.com/D4nWtOEwGD
— CONMEBOL Copa America™? (@copaamerica) July 2, 2024
Uruguay played more aggressively in the second half, and the USA, who knew Panama was leading at that point, had difficulty doing so. Federico Valverde tried a powerful long-range shot that went wide of Matt Turner's goal. The goalkeeper responded to a Ronald Araujo header midway through the second half, but then had no chance after Oliveira's rebound: the Napoli defender looked to be narrowly offside when Araujo headed the ball in, but the goal stood, leaving the USA fans in disbelief at 0-1.
The image shows the Uruguayan Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Trade Player. How did you like it? pic.twitter.com/hVqgQKuELi
– Pablo Giralt (@giraltpablo) July 2, 2024
The USA had to do their best in attack and after excellent build-up work from Weston McKennie and Pepe, they created a chance for Pulisic, whose deflected shot was cleared by Nandez just before the line. After another neat move, this time Alhaji Wright had a great chance. He could have played the ball to the outlaw Pepe, but decided to do it himself and saw his cracked shot easily saved by Rocher.
The United States would not come close and the host nation was already eliminated from the group stage. What was striking was that shortly after the match, referee Rodriguez refused to shake Pulisic's outstretched hand, who clashed with the referee on several occasions.
The central part of the match is not manual led by Christian Pulisic, captain of the EEUU team????
pic.twitter.com/QOWYQqBUA7— TERADEPORTES (@Teradeportes) July 2, 2024
Uruguay will face the second-placed team in Group D, currently Brazil, in the quarter-finals. Panama will play the group leader, now Colombia, but a defeat for that country against Brazil would change the final standings in that group.
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