On Tuesday afternoon, in an international friendly, Uruguay lost to Ivory Coast 2-1, in a duel held at the Félix-Bollaert Stadium, in France. The Uruguayan goal was scored by Federico Viñas, while a goal from Mathías Olivera (own goal) and one from Guéla Doué gave the Ivorians the victory.
The Uruguayans De la Cruz and Viña, do Flamengo, were starters in the team led by Marcelo Bielsa. Arrascaeta and Canobbio (Athletico-PR) entered as the second half progressed. Ignacio Laquintana, from Red Bull Bragantinodid not leave the bank.
Now, Uruguay must continue preparing for the America Cup, which will begin in June this year and will be held in the United States. On the other hand, Ivory Coast remains in contention for the African Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The game
Ivory Coast, current champion of the African Cup of Nations, started the match putting pressure on Uruguay, and opened the scoring after eight minutes. Singo appeared on the right side and crossed into the penalty area. The ball was deflected by Mathías Olivera and goalkeeper Santiago Mele was unable to save: 1-0.
With 31 minutes, the Ivorians had a chance to expand, but wasted it. Diakité received it from Bamba at the edge of the area and tried to finish, but the marking arrived in time to interfere with the shot. With that, Mele made a calm defense.
A minute later, De la Cruz saw that Uruguay was having difficulty creating scoring opportunities and took a risk from outside the area, but the ball went to the right of the Ivorian goal. It was in the 39th minute that the midfielder really got scared: with a good free kick, he forced goalkeeper Fofana to palm the ball for a corner.
After the second half, Uruguay almost scored a great goal. Valverde received a cross from the right side and tried to volley, but sent the ball out.
7️⃣ pic.twitter.com/L72bayvedT
— Uruguayan National Team (@Uruguay) March 26, 2024
With 21 minutes, it was Ivory Coast’s turn to be in danger again and almost extend the advantage. The Uruguayan defense started playing and made a mistake. The Ivorian attack recovered the ball, but stopped after a good save by goalkeeper Mele.
And it was in the 31st minute of the second half that Uruguay tied the score. Canobbio received it from Arrascaeta on the left side and crossed low for Federico Viñas to leave everything equal on the scoreboard.
But at 38, Ivory Coast scored the winning goal. After a corner kick, Guéla Doué hit a beautiful volley to give his team the victory.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
