Copa America 2024, July 1 recap: Panama and Uruguay advance to the quarterfinals

• Group C has defined the teams that will play in the quarter-finals of the tournament | Photo: EFE

Uruguay’s national team defeated the United States 1-0, eliminating the team. It qualified for the quarterfinals of the Copa América with a full three wins in three games and awaits its rival, which will be decided this Tuesday between Colombia and Brazil.

The Americans, needing a win, failed to create any clear chances.

Uruguay’s goal at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, which confirmed the hosts’ elimination from the first round, came in the 66th minute thanks to a rebound left by American goalkeeper Matthew Charles Turner and taken advantage of by Mathías Olivera.

The defeat was the final blow to the Stars and Stripes, which had already been eliminated with the draw and Panama’s victory over Bolivia in the simultaneous match that was being played at the Inter&Co in Orlando.

Uruguayan striker Maximiliano Araújo had to be taken off on a stretcher following a strong blow to the head in a fall in the 27th minute and was replaced by Cristian Olivera.

Uruguay will face Brazil or Colombia in Group D, the second-place finisher in the group, for the quarter-final match to be played on Saturday, July 6.

Photo: EFE

Panama achieved historic qualification

The Panama national team achieved a historic qualification to the quarterfinals of the Copa América by beating Bolivia 1-3, which said goodbye to the tournament for the fourth consecutive time without scoring in the group stage.

Universidad Católica de Ecuador forward José Fajardo opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, Eduardo Guerrero added to the lead in the 79th and César Yanis sealed the win in the 91st.

Striker Bruno Miranda temporarily tied the score for Bolivia in the 69th minute and scored the only goal for the Verde in the competition.

Panama advanced as second in the group with 6 points, beating the United States, the host team, which it beat 2-1 on the second matchday.

In the first few minutes it was clear that Panama was in a greater hurry to score and, in its eagerness to speed up some plays, was a bit shaky and had some doubts in its attack.

The team led by Brazilian Antonio Carlos Zago had a dangerous chance in the 3rd minute, through a combination between the young Miguelito Terceros and the experienced Carmelo Algarañaz, although the play was invalidated due to an offside position.

In the 12th minute, Jovani Welch tried a shot that lacked enough power and ended up in the hands of Bolivian goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.

The long-awaited opening for the Canaleros came in the 22nd minute, with a header assist from Cristian Martínez for Fajardo to score with his right foot.

The mostly young Bolivia that Zago supported did not let up despite being down on the scoreboard and had the Third Division as its standard-bearer in its attempts to equalize the score.

While the team of Spanish-Danish Thomas Christiansen wanted to ensure a favourable result with some attacks that, however, were not very effective.

However, Panama went into the break with the comfort of having a lead, knowing that the score in the other match in the group was zero.

The Central American Red team came out on the attack in the second half and had a first attempt in the 49th minute, with a ball saved by Martínez that Viscarra managed to deflect.

The Panamanians pressed harder, but remained imprecise, losing the ball easily and failing to connect to score a second goal that would give them more peace of mind.

Viscarra stopped an attempt by newly substituted Kahiser Lenis in the 66th minute and three minutes later Panama had a scare from that wasted opportunity, as Bolivia equalized.

Newcomer Miranda also broke the Verde’s goal drought, although he had to wait for a VAR check to celebrate.

The Canaleros breathed once more in the 79th minute when Guerrero, who had entered the field five minutes earlier, scored the second with a header following an assist from Eric Davis.

The final relief came in the first minute of extra time with a shot from Yanis, who had been on the pitch for a minute and left the Bolivian goalkeeper hanging, demonstrating the effectiveness of the changes made by Christiansen.

With information from EFE

Related news