Uruguay secured third place at the Copa America after a thrilling 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Canada, following a dramatic injury-time equaliser by Luis Suarez. The intense match at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium ended 2-2 in regular time, pushing the teams into a nerve-wracking penalty showdown.
Rodrigo Bentancur gave Uruguay an early lead, but Canada quickly responded with goals from Ismael Kone and Jonathan David, putting them ahead 2-1. The match seemed to be slipping away from Uruguay until Suarez struck in the second minute of injury time, levelling the score and setting the stage for a decisive penalty shootout.
In the shootout, Kone’s spot-kick was saved by Uruguay’s goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, and Alphonso Davies missed his attempt, hitting the crossbar with a panenka-style kick. Uruguay’s Federico Valverde, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Bentancur, and Suarez all successfully converted their penalties, sealing the victory for their team.
Uruguay’s head coach Marcelo Bielsa expressed mixed feelings about the win, acknowledging that his team “barely deserved” to reach the shootout and felt they underperformed throughout the tournament. “I thought that given our roster, we could have played a bit better than what we showed,” Bielsa commented.
Canada’s coach Jesse Marsch, despite the loss, praised his team’s performance and viewed the tournament as valuable preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which Canada will co-host with the United States and Mexico. “We’re still a young team. It’s not so easy to build a tactical model with such short time and under such big stresses against such good opponents,” Marsch noted.
Meanwhile, Copa America holders Argentina are set to face Colombia in the final at 01:00 BST on Monday, promising another exciting clash in the tournament.
