Uruguay 1-0 Paraguay
Uruguay finished off the Copa America group stage with a 1-0 victory over Paraguay thanks to a first-half Edinson Cavani penalty.
The result saw Uruguay leapfrog Paraguay to finish second behind Argentina in Group A, with Paraguay finishing third.
La Celeste had not looked all that convincing thus far in this tournament, particularly in attack. Hence, the Copa America 2021 betting odds were not overly bullish about their chances of beating Paraguay, who had won two of their first three matches.
But they turned in perhaps their most impressive performance yet as their defence completely shut down Paraguay’s attack, which had scored the most goals in the group heading into the final matchday.
Highlights of the game
Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez made Copa America 2021 news as he opted not to start superstar striker Luis Suarez. Instead, Edinson Cavani operated as the lone striker with attacking midfielders Giorgian De Arrascaeta and Nicolas De La Cruz — who has recently been linked with a move to Manchester United — in support.
But despite missing Suarez, Uruguay made a great start to the match and very nearly took the lead just five minutes in as De Arrascaeta’s thunderous right-footed strike thumped off the post.
De Arrascaeta had another great chance to score a few minutes later, but Paraguay keeper Antony Silva did brilliantly to push the shot onto the post.
But Uruguay kept on applying the pressure on Paraguay, which eventually resulted in a penalty. Uruguay right-back Nahitan Nandez made his way into the Paraguay penalty area and was clumsily fouled by Angel Romero.
With Suarez out, Cavani stepped up to take responsibility for the penalty, which he dispatched with utmost confidence.
Cavani then almost set up Uruguay’s second goal as he delivered a dangerous ball across the face of goal, but a Paraguay defender did incredibly well to prevent the sliding De Arrascaeta from tapping the ball into an open net.
Meanwhile, Paraguay were without a single shot over half an hour into the match, and they were dealt an even bigger blow as star playmaker Miguel Almiron had to be substituted off due to an injury.
Uruguay thought they had doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time through Matias Vecino, but the goal was waved off since Cavani was offside in the build-up.
Paraguay finally produced a threatening attack seven minutes into the second half, and they even had the ball in the back of the net through substitute Oscar Romero’s header. However, the Paraguayan had strayed just offside.
Unfortunately for Paraguay, that proved to be their best chance of the match as Uruguay continued to nullify their attack.
Uruguay will be a bit disappointed they could not get a second goal. Suarez, who came on to replace Cavani, had a decent chance on 72 minutes which Silva easily saved.
But Cavani’s penalty proved to be enough as Uruguay’s defence did more than enough to secure the victory.
Key statistics
The final shooting statistics were overwhelmingly in Uruguay’s favour. La Celeste attempted a whopping 18 shots (six on target), while Paraguay could only produce four shots, with none on target.
Cavani was excellent in his role as lone frontman as he finished with four shots. He also scored for second game running – he got their second goal in their 2-0 win over Bolivia – to up his total to 53 goals in 122 appearances for his country.
The penalty Cavani converted was the first penalty goal he has scored since December 2019 for PSG in the Champions League. Meanwhile, his last penalty scored for Uruguay came in March 2017.
What’s next?
With the group stage done and dusted, it’s off the quarter-finals for both Uruguay and Paraguay.
Because they finished second in the group, Uruguay will take on the third-place team in Group B, Colombia, who won just one of their four group fixtures.
The two countries last met during World Cup qualifiers last November, with Uruguay winning 3-0 away from home. Cavani and Suarez were both on target in that match, while Darwin Nunez scored the third.
Meanwhile, Paraguay will take on Peru, who surprisingly finished second in Group B with two wins in four matches, including one against Colombia. The SBOTOP odds for that matchup should be quite close with neither team all that superior to the other.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
