Julius Okorie
Expectedly, Uruguay overcame Canada in the Copa America third place to win their second third place match out of four.
In 2001, they lost on penalties against Honduras; in 2004, they defeated Peru; and in 2007, they lost to Mexico.
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Luis Suarez tied the score two minutes into second-half stoppage time, and Uruguay beat Canada 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw to finish third in the Copa America this year.
Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet saved Ismael Kone’s weak penalty kick after a stutter step on Canada’s third attempt and Alphonso Davies put Canada’s fifth and final kick off the crossbar.
Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Bentancur, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Suarez converted Uruguay’s attempts past goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair while Jonathan David, Moise Bombito and Mathieu Choiniere made their kicks for Canada, which went first in the shootout.
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Bentancur put Uruguay ahead in the eighth minute but Canada built a 2-1 lead on goals by Kone in the 22nd and David in the 80th.
The 37-year-old Suarez, Uruguay’s career scoring leader got his 69th international goal on a quick attack following a timely pass from Jose Gimenez.
St. Clair was given an unusual yellow card as Rochet was preparing for Bombito’s penalty kick, possibly for trying to distract the goalkeeper.
Despite losing, debutants Canada deserve a pat on the back for their fighting spirit. They were given below average chance of defeating Uruguay before the match.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
