Copa America: Uruguay, Canada Wrestle for Consolation Prize

Uruguay vs Canada

This year’s Copa America is about to close its chapter and crown the rightful champion between Argentina and Colombia.

But before the two nations collide in the final, Uruguay and Canada will face off in Charlotte for a chance at the final podium spot.

For Canada, win or lose, they have been the surprise performers of the tournament. Semi-finalists in Copa America for the first time, they have beaten every Copa America 2024 betting odds set against them.

Meanwhile, Uruguay would love to forget the recent events that have transpired in the past 24 hours.

Talking Points

Will La Celeste get off the hook?

Tempers flared after Uruguay’s disappointing loss to Colombia during their semi-final match yesterday at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte—the same venue where they battle Canada for third place.

La Celeste’s duel with Los Cafeteros saw a total of 24 fouls, six yellow cards, and one red card courtesy of Colombia and Crystal Palace right-back Daniel Munoz.

But before Munoz was sent off for intentionally digging his elbow into Manuel Ugarte’s chest, Colombia went ahead in the 39^th minute courtesy of Jefferson Lerma heading in James Rodriguez’s corner kick.

Despite being down to 10 men, Nestor Lorenzo’s side—who’ve been undefeated since the day he took charge—fought tooth and nail to deny Uruguay an equaliser and maintain a 1-0 lead until the final whistle.

This was where things got messy.

According to Copa America 2024 updates, Uruguay and Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez and several Colombian fans came into blows as heckling and trash-talking finally reached their boiling point.

It is yet unclear how Darwin Nunez, along with some Uruguayan players, will be sanctioned by CONMEBOL.

Suspensions and fines could potentially be handed to Marcelo Bielsa’s team, which would be to Canada’s benefit.

Les Rouges’ closing act can be special

Canada’s 2024 Copa America run, however the climax, will be regarded as a success story that cannot be scripted even by Hollywood itself.

Ranked 48^th in the world and put in a group that has tasted quite the success in the tournament, they came out in one piece and downed Venezuela in the quarter-final only for their feel-good moment be halted by defending champions Argentina.

Still, win or lose on Sunday, the Canucks exit the tournament with their heads held high.

They have done all they could possibly do and have punched way above their weight; perhaps Jesse Marsch has already maximized this squad’s potential.

They were not supposed to make it past the group stages, yet here we are.

If they lose, there would be no shame, and in the event they shock everyone for the nth time, then they would go back home as extremely happy campers.

Either way, there is no loss for Canada, whatever the result may be.

History

The two sides have rarely faced each other. So rare that they’ve only met twice—in 1986 and 2022, neither of which were major tournaments.

Uruguay won both meetings with an aggregate score of 5-1.

La Celeste have also won the tournament on 15 occasions, whilst Canada just started to get their feet wet during this year’s competition.

Betting Tip

Make no mistake about it, Uruguay will end this year’s Copa America with something to show for it, even if it’s just a third-place finish.

I’d like you to look past what happened against Colombia. It was a bad night, happens to the best of us. They would undoubtedly move forward after that incident and give their fans something to cheer for—even if it’s not the ultimate prize.

Ronald Araujo (Barcelona) won’t be able to play with an injury, whilst Rodrigo Bentacur (Spurs) is doubtful after suffering a leg injury against Colombia.

As already mentioned, there is still no verdict on how CONMEBOL will deal with Darwin Nunez. But even if he misses the match, Bielsa remains to have too much quality in his squad than that of Marsch’s.

Lest we forget that Uruguay ended the entire group stages with nine goals—the most in the tournament. They may have missed the mark and were highly unlucky to not capitalise against a 10-man Colombian squad.

Still, I have my utmost trust that they’ll pull through against a Canadian team that have already maximised what they can achieve. There’s a reason SBOTOP has them as underdogs at 5.70.

It may seem attractive, but I’d proceed with caution.

 

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