Colombia 0-3 Uruguay
Uruguay have moved up to the CONMEBOL table as they demolished Colombia in last night’s World Cup 2022 qualifiers fixture.
Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani set the tone early with a quick goal, and in the second half, Luis Suarez and Darwin Nunez followed suit with goals of their own.
It was a great bounce-back victory for La Celeste especially after losing badly to Ecuador in the last time out. Oscar Tabarez’s men not only did so well in the attacking front, but they also managed to secure their first clean sheet in more than a year.
Colombia, however, had their share of opportunities to score and one can argue that this match was theirs to lose. But in the end, they were left to rue on their missed chances.
The victory propelled Uruguay to the fourth spot in the CONMEBOL standings, which is much better than being at the sixth spot prior to this fixture.
Meanwhile, Los Cafeteros slipped down to the seventh spot as they suffered their first defeat in three games.
The World Cup 2022 odds in our match preview initially saw this as a goal-fest that will end up in a draw, but Uruguay came away with a huge statement.
Today with SBOTOP, let us recap and take a look at last night’s package of World Cup 2022 highlights.
Highlights of the game
With La Celeste facing lineup doubts, team manager Oscar Tabarez decided to rely on his veterans to get the job done.
Tabarez put in Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani as their two main strikers, alongside young playmakers in Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira and Juventus’ Rodrigo Bentancur.
Surprisingly, Colombia had control for majority of the possession, but Uruguay proved to be too opportunistic whenever they had a chance.
After playing back and forth within the first four minutes, Uruguay would break through in the fifth minute.
The Colombian defence failed to clear the ball and Nahitan Nandez teed a pass to a running Edinson Cavani, who would get on the scoreboard for the first time since scoring for Manchester United in the last time out.
Los Cafeteros would try to respond with a chance of their own in the 12th minute, but James Rodriguez’s long-range shot was far too wide.
Edinson Cavani almost doubled the lead in the 25th minute when David Ospina lost the ball momentarily after a save from Rodrigo Bentancur’s shot, but the Colombian goalkeeper was spared.
Another promising sequence came for Uruguay during the 29th minute when Nicolas de la Cruz launched a cross intended for Luis Suarez. However, David Ospina came on for a routine save.
In the second half, Colombia had some rhythm early on which almost turned to goals.
Duvan Zapata came close to heading home a pass from Juan Cuadrado in the 50th minute, but it was blocked by Martin Campana.
Three minutes later, Luis Suarez broke the game wide open when he sent David Ospina the wrong way for a penalty after Rodrigo Bentancur drew a penalty call.
Carlos Queiroz’s men dominated possession for majority of the second half, but they struggled mightily in breaking down Uruguay’s rock-solid defence.
Fast forward to the 73rd minute, Darwin Nunez would cap off La Celeste’s night by slotting the ball home to the bottom corner after receiving a nice pass from Lucas Torreira.
To add insult to injury for Colombia, Yerry Mina was sent off in added time for incurring his second yellow card.
Key statistics
Uruguay came out as the big winners given the several milestones that they have achieved.
Last night’s victory was Oscar Tabarez’s 100th as La Celeste’s manager, and then it was Colombia’s heaviest home defeat in a competitive game in 82 years.
This was the first time that Los Cafeteros were held scoreless since their 3-0 defeat against Algeria last October 2019.
Edinson Cavani has now scored two goals in his last two games. The veteran marksman has scored 16 goals in 39 World Cup qualifiers fixtures, with 51 international goals overall.
Luis Suarez, on the other hand, moved up to fourth in South America’s all-time leading goalscorers with 63 goals as he just surpassed Brazilian icon Ronaldo (62).
The 33-year-old is only one goal shy of Neymar (64), but he still has some ways to go with Lionel Messi (71) and Pele (77) out in front.
The Atletico Madrid forward also became the first South American in history to record 25 goals in the World Cup qualifiers.
What’s next?
Colombia will fly over to the Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria as they’ll lock horns with Ecuador on Tuesday night.
Uruguay, on the other end, will have a tough task on their hands as they host top-seeded Brazil on the same night over at the Centenario.
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