Araujo, Uruguay advance to Copa America quarter-finals
Araujo, Uruguay advance to Copa America quarter-finals
Barcelona star Ronald Araujo and Uruguay are through to the Copa America 2024 quarter-finals as Group C winners thanks to a 1-0 victory over the United States on Monday’s group finale in Kansas City. A tense, physical and controversial contest ended with a win for the Celeste which also eliminated the Americans, and Uruguay have confirmed their status as favorites with their group stage performance and might be headed for a monster quarter-final against Brazil at the weekend.
After cruising through the first two games against weaker opposition Uruguay were made to work by the Americans, who needed a win to give themselves a realistic shot to qualify for the knockout stages as tournament hosts.
The game had plenty of tension, very bad refereeing, intensity and physicality, but it lacked true creativity and chances from either side. But in the 65th minute a Uruguay free-kick was headed on target by Araujo, and Mathías Olivera scored on the rebound to put the Celeste in front.
There was a lot of controversy with the VAR decision that kept Olivera onside, but the goal stood and Uruguay found a way to hold on to the result despite the late pressure from the United States and the final whistle came to confirm the Celeste advancing as group winners with three wins out of three games.
Uruguay have joined current holders Argentina along with Canada, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and Colombia in the quarter-final field, with Brazil and Costa Rica still alive in the hunt for the final spot in the group stage finale.
Raphinha’s Brazil will qualifiy if they don’t lose to Colombia on Tuesday, but they’ll still need a win to avoid having to play a potential quarter-final against what looks like a very strong Uruguayan side. Marcelo Bielsa’s team came into the tournament as one of the favorites, and their group stage performance has pretty much confirmed that.
Look out for the Celeste. They’re ready to win it all.