Uruguay came into this match on the back of a loss to Argentina and were hoping to win it in order to boost their hopes of qualification, but the Chile had ideas of their own in Cuiaba’s Arena Pantanal.
La Roja opened the scoring in the first half from their first shot on target as Eduardo Vargas scored for Chile after deftly combining with English-born Chilean forward Ben Brereton.
¡FINAL EN CUIABÁ! @Uruguay y @LaRoja igualaron 1-1 por el Grupo A. Eduardo Vargas marcó el primero 🇨🇱 mientras que Luis Suárez empató para la Celeste 🇺🇾
🇺🇾 Uruguay 🆚 Chile 🇨🇱#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/8cz2Fg8f0B
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) June 21, 2021
The Uruguayans pushed hard for an equaliser in Cuiaba and were eventually rewarded after Luis Suarez scored a vital goal to keep qualification hopes alive for La Celeste.
FootTheBall takes a look at the events that unfolded in the Arena Pantanal in Brazil and what they mean for both Uruguay and Chile.
URUGUAY WASTEFUL IN FRONT OF GOAL YET AGAIN
The Uruguayans dominated the first half of the match in terms of the statistics but were once again wasteful in front of goal as Chile scored the first goal of the match.
Suarez and company created more chances and had more shots on target than their Chilean counterparts but had to pay for their lack of a finishing touch in the final third.
This was best exemplified by the passage of play in the 25th and 26th minutes. Cavani and Suarez both missed chances to open Uruguay’s account in quick succession.
And in the very next minute Chile had scored on a lightning fast counter-attack that saw Eduardo Vargas score from a relatively tight angle to give La Roja the lead in the match.
CLINICAL CHILE ON SONG IN COPA AMERICA
With Uruguay, Chile created only one chance in the opposition penalty box and scored from that very shot on target in the first half
La Roja relied on a sustained but shifting possession-based and counter-attacking approach to constantly trouble Uruguay who were unable to break down a staunch Chilean defensive back three.
#CopaAmérica 🏆@LaRoja está venciendo 1-0 a @Uruguay en Cuiabá y esto fue lo más destacado del primer tiempo.
🇺🇾 Uruguay 🆚 Chile 🇨🇱#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/XPMNS9WCcE
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) June 21, 2021
In attack, the Chileans were ultra-clinical in converting the only shot on target they had in the first half. Eduardo Vargas combined with Anglo-Chilean forward Benjamin Brereton to open the scoring as he beat Fernando Muslera from a difficult angle.
Interestingly, the Uruguayans’ defence collapsed like a pack of cards as soon as the Chileans manoeuvred themselves inside their penalty area in the first half.
PERSEVERING URUGUAY FIND A WAY THROUGH
Oscar Tabarez’s charges were the better attacking side on paper at least, but it took them more than an hour to find the back of the net in Cuiaba as Chile defended deep whenever they lost possession.
¡SIEMPRE LUCHO! Luis Suárez la desvió y marcó el empate de @Uruguay ante @LaRoja. ¡1-1 en Cuiabá!
🇺🇾 Uruguay 🆚 Chile 🇨🇱#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/TV3JLEkZ7k
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) June 21, 2021
And who else was it other than the evergreen forward Luis Suarez for the Uruguayans. The Atletico Madrid player scored from a corner after literally battling with former Barcelona teammate Arturo Vidal at Claudio Bravo’s far post to get a touch on the ball to salvage a ray of hope for his national team.
CAVANI COMES CLOSE FOR LA CELESTE
In the concluding minutes of the match Edinson Cavani missed a golden opportunity to score a header from a cross delivered from the left wing and effectively seal all three points for Uruguay.
The Manchester United forward missed by just a whisker as another Uruguay chance went begging by. In the end, Oscar Tabarez’s charges tried all the tricks in the bag to eke out a win, but a resolute Chilean defence held on until the final whistle to see things through at the Arena Pantanal.
This match must be a wake-up call for both the teams as they haven’t won a single match that they have played in 2021 so far and if things remain the same, they will face a lot of difficulty in the business end of the tournament
