Copa América Group C continues play this evening as the United States took on Panama, and Bolivia squared off with Uruguay. Let’s dig into what happened on the night.
Uruguay 5-0 Bolivia
Scorers: Pellistri 8′, Núñez 21′, Araújo 77′, Valverde 81′, Bentancur 89′
Uruguay all but booked their spot in the knockouts with an emphatic win over Group C basement-dwellers Bolivia.
It was all Uruguay from the very first whistle, and they should have found the lead within three minutes but Darwin Núñez somehow put his close-range effort wide.
It wasn’t a worry for Marcelo Bielsa’s side however, and they grabbed a deserved lead before the 10 minute mark when Facundo Pellistri headed home from point-blank range.
Núñez made amends for his earlier miss less than 20 minutes later, bagging his second of the tournament to double Uruguay’s lead, and all but drive the final nail into Bolivia’s coffin.
Bolivia hardly stood a chance at a fight-back in the second-half, and late goals from Maximiliano Araújo, Federico Valverde, and Rodrigo Bentancur shut the door emphatically, and sent Uruguay cruising full speed towards knockouts.
Panama 2-1 USA
Scorers: Balogun 22′ ; Blackman 26′, Fajardo 84′
The United States’ Copa América hopes hang in the balance after capitulating against Panama in a narrow defeat.
It was a rampant from start from the United States, who didn’t allow Panama out of their own half before Weston McKennie put the ball in the back of the net.
Luckily for Panama however, the goal was chalked off after a VAR check revealed an offside USA player on the set-piece which lead to the goal.
The affair descended into chaos from there as Timothy Weah was sent off for violent conduct to see the United States go down to 10 men with more than an hour left to play.
Despite their numerical inferiority, Folarin Balogun stunned Panama with a long-range shot that found its way in off the post to give the Stars and Stripes the lead.
Panama responded well however, bagging an equalizer through Cesar Blackman, who fired a shot into the bottom corner from inside the box.
Los Canaleros poured the pressure on, and while it looked like the United States would hold on for a gutsy point, second-half substitute José Fajardo stunned the Atlanta crowd by sending his close-range shot into the roof of the net to snatch the lead late on for his side.
Drama continued to reign as Panama lost a man of their own as the United States looked to punch back, as Adalberto Carrasquilla was sent off for cynical tackle on Christian Pulisic. The two teams headed into stoppage-time both down to 10 men.
Thomas Christiansen’s men would not be punished however, as Panama held on for a famous victory.
