Team Canada finished the Copa America in fourth place. Luis Suarez (37, Inter Miami) scored the perfect ‘last dance’ goal to lift Uruguay to third place.
Jesse Marsch’s Canada fell to Uruguay on penalties in the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 third-place playoff at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Canada tied the game 2-2 on a theatrical equalizer from Suarez in second-half stoppage time before falling 2-4 in penalty kicks to miss out on a much-needed victory. Still, the fourth-place finish was their best ever. In his first two months in charge, Marsch made Canadian soccer history and proved his leadership skills.
It’s unfortunate for South Korea that they missed him. He was a strong candidate for the job, but the Korean Football Association (KFA) reportedly lost out in the final stages due to a lack of negotiating power. “We actually contacted Masi in March, and he said he was willing to do it, but he said, ‘There are other places, but I’m Korean.’ When I first recommended Masi, they weren’t interested, so the negotiations dragged on. A lot of people didn’t know who he was,” he revealed.
Canada opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Tani Oluwasi, Jacob Schaffelberg-Jonathan Osorio-Ali Ahmed, Mathieu Chouinard-Ismael Kone, Richie Lareia-Moise Bombito-Luc de Fougerolles-Alistair Johnstone, and Dane St. Clair started up front.
Uruguay started in a 4-3-3 formation. Maximiliano Araujo-Darwin Núñez-Facundo Felistri, Federico Valverde-Manuel Ugarte-Rodrigo Bentancur, Matias Vina-Sebastian Caceres-José Jiménez-Naitan Nandez, and Sergio Rochette.
Uruguay opened the scoring quickly. 메이저사이트 In the eighth minute, Caceres knocked the ball away with his head from a corner kick. Bentancur picked it up and fired a powerful left-footed turner into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Canada equalized in the 21st minute of the first half, again off a corner kick. Kone connected on the lofted ball with a spectacular two-step kick to equalize. It was a sensational shot reminiscent of taekwondo.
Both teams battled back and forth. In the 23rd minute, Pellistri rattled the net with an accurate shot, but the goal was called offside. In the 43rd minute, Osorio had a crucial one-on-one opportunity but was denied by a leaping goalkeeper. The first half ended 1-1.
Uruguay brought out the substitutes at the start of the second half.
Núñez and Ugarte were brought off and veteran strikers Luis Suárez and Jorginho de Arrascaeta were brought on. It was Suárez’s last Copa game.
Uruguay began to dominate. In the 23rd minute, Arrascaeta broke into the back of the defense and tried to lay the ball off to an onrushing teammate, but his pass was intercepted by the defense. In the 25th minute, Briaan Rodriguez fired a powerful shot from the right side of the box, but it was blocked by a great tackle from the defense.
More bad luck on goal. In the 33rd minute, Valverde collected a loose ball off a corner kick. He folded once to beat his defender before firing a left-footed shot that deflected off a defender and hit the crossbar.
Canada turned the game around. In the 35th minute of the second half, Kone burst through the middle of the field and fired an uncontested mid-range shot. The keeper couldn’t get the ball away and David slotted it home for the game-winner.
Suarez’s ‘last dance’ gave Uruguay one last hope.
He created a crucial chance in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, beating the defense alone, but was frustrated when his final shot was blocked by the keeper. Suarez, however, scored a theatrical equalizer a minute later, finishing with his left foot from Jimenez’s ground ball cross with precision.
In the end, the third place would be decided in penalty kicks. The fate of both teams was decided on the third kicker. Canada’s equalizer, Kone, took a hesitant step and fired a shot that was blocked by the unsuspecting goalkeeper. Then, No. 5 kicker David Panenka’s penalty kick hit the crossbar. In the end, Uruguay won 4-3 as all four kickers, including Suarez, were successful.
