Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival on the Uruguayan bench gave La Celeste the confidence boost that they could win Copa América after 13 years. So far, they were not wrong to feel that way. After the triumph over Panama 3-1, Bolivia was convincingly smashed by Darwin Núñez and Co. 5-0. However, the opponent was nowhere near up to the challenge. Namely, the country from central South America hasn’t won a competitive match outside its borders for nine years and serves as a punching bag on the away fields.🚨🚨| GOAL: DARWIN NUNEZ DOUBLES THE LEAD!Uruguay 2-0 Bolivia pic.twitter.com/fGQUmAOyeC— Transfer Sector (@TransferSector) June 28, 2024 Facundo Pellistri broke the deadlock already in the eighth minute, and Núñez scored his second Copa América goal in the 21st. La Celeste then became a bit complacent and 2-0 was the halftime result. After the break, Uruguay still dominated the game but couldn’t find the net until the 77th minute when the youngster Maximiliano Araújo also scored his second tournament goal. Four minutes later, Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde made it 4-0, whereas in the 89th minute, the Spurs’ Rodrigo Bentancur netted the fifth goal for Uruguay.No way I missed Fede Valverde’s goalMy boy 😭🤍pic.twitter.com/lQMhJcJ52h— Kay | Snapchat & IG Ads (@KayRMFC) June 28, 2024 Bielsa’s squad secured the quarter-final, but it would be interesting to see who their rival would be. Namely, despite Brazil’s disappointing performance against Costa Rica and Colombia brushing off Paraguay, the Uruguayans certainly wish to avoid Seleção already in the first step of the knockout phase.‼️This is why Weah got red card 👀pic.twitter.com/0dyA6WG8d6— Black&White🦓 (@Jfamily3502) June 27, 2024 In the other Group C duel, Panama surprisingly came from behind to beat the USA 2-1. Monaco’s Folarin Balogun gave the Yanks the lead in the 22nd minute, only four minutes after Juventus’ Timothy Weah had been sent off for hitting the opponent in the back of the head. Nevertheless, Los Canaleros used that advantage and emerged victorious thanks to César Blackman’s and José Fajardo’s goals. Bolivia is already out of the tournament, while the USA will have a difficult task against Uruguay in the last round of the group stage. That opens up the space for Panama to beat La Verde and secure the quarter-final.COPA AMERICA – GROUP STAGEFridayPanama – USA 2-1 (1-1)/Blackman 26, Fajardo 83 – Balogun 22/Uruguay – Bolivia 5-0 (2-0)/Pellistri 8, Nunez 21, Araujo 77, Valverde 81, Bentancur 89/Saturday00.55: (1.37) Colombia (4.70) Costa Rica (9.00)04.00: (11.0) Paraguay (5.20) Brazil (1.30)Sunday03.00: (1.47) Argentina (4.10) Peru (7.75)03.00: (3.50) Canada (3.30) Chile (2.15)***odds are subject to change***
