USA, Uruguay make winning starts to Copa America campaigns

Panama’s forward #17 Jose Fajardo (C) fights for the ball with Uruguay’s defender #16 Mathias Olivera and Uruguay’s defender #04 Ronald Araujo during the Conmebol 2024 Copa America tournament group C football match between Uruguay and Panama at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida on June 23, 2024. (Photo by Chris ARJOON / AFP)
 

The United States defeated Bolivia 2-0 on Sunday to start their Copa America campaign with a goal and an assist from Christian Pulisic.

In Group C, Uruguay, the 15-time champions of the Copa, defeated Panama 3-1 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami thanks in large part to Darwin Nunez's goal, which served as a reminder of their position as favorites.

Before halftime at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, US captain Pulisic set up striker Folarin Balogun for a second goal after he curled in a fantastic opening goal.

“We came out flying with a lot of intensity,” Pulisic said.

“Obviously an early goal helped us a lot, but all around a pretty dominant performance.”

Coach Gregg Berhalter of the United States had cautioned his players not to become too comfortable against Bolivia, a team that had only won one game in the previous nine Copa America editions since 1999.

After just three minutes, Pulisic gave the home team the lead, making it evident that he was in no mood to allow the South Americans to break that record.

After receiving the ball from a left corner, Pulisic dribbled to the area's edge before curling a rasping effort goalward.

 Despite trying to stop it, Bolivian goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra was unable to stop the ball from soaring into the net's roof.

Despite that early lead, the US found it difficult to turn their superiority into opportunities and were irritated by a belligerent Bolivian side that saw three players sent off in the opening thirty-one minutes.

After Bolivia made an unruly start, Leonel Justiniano, Gabriel Villamil, and Luis Haquin were all given yellow cards.

In the 44th minute, the United States doubled their lead, with Pulisic playing a major role once more.

After the AC Milan forward picked up the ball close to midway, he raced toward the penalty area and squared to Balogun, who first touched the ball to drag defender Jesus Sagredo wide before putting a low shot into the base of the net.

After the resumption, issues persisted due to the US forward line's superior mobility.

In the 50th minute, Balogun narrowly missed a toe on a low shot by Tim Weah. A few moments later, the ball went in the net, but it was called just slightly offside.

Then, in the 60th minute, Pulisic weaved into the penalty area and fired a fierce shot that produced a nice stop from Viscarra.

Replace Shortly after replacing Gio Reyna in the 65th minute, Ricardo Pepi had a chance to make it 3-0, but his attempt from an Antonee Robinson cross went wide.

In the ninetieth minute, Viscarra made a last-ditch double save to deny Pepi a goal.

 

– Relentless Uruguay –

Uruguay, under by Marcelo Bielsa, got off to a classic start, overwhelming rivals Panama and applying constant pressure.

In the sixteenth minute, Maximiliano Araujo gave Uruguay the lead with a skillfully placed left-footed shot into the upper corner.

Orlando Mosquera, the goalkeeper for Panama, had to be at his peak to handle the barrage of attempts. He parried a fierce shot from Nunez and then made an incredible save to stop a header from Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

In the 29th minute, Mosquera's quick reflexes again paid off as he denied Nunez from close range after the Liverpool striker connected on a low cross from Federico Valverde.

After the interval, though, things were considerably different, with Panama enjoying some consistent pressure and Uruguay appearing a little worn out. 

But when Nunez increased their advantage in the 85th minute, using his incredible technique to volley home a half-clearance from within the area, Bielsa's team gave themselves breathing room.

The match was ended by a brilliantly placed header by Matias Vina after a Nicolas de la Cruz free kick; however, Panama was rewarded in the closing minutes when Michael Amir Murillo completed a quick break.

“In the first half we were better. In the second half they controlled the game for the first 15 or 20 minutes,” Nunez said.

“We suffered a bit, but with the second goal we improved again and ended up playing well,” said the striker.

“We missed a lot of chances, a lot of plays that ended badly. But you learn from mistakes and we never gave up,” he added.