The Brazilian team and the ‘Celeste’, which together have accumulated 24 of the 47 titles of the oldest continental tournament for national teams in the world, meet again on Saturday in Las Vegas, in the United States, in a clash in which Uruguay this time has the status of favorite.
In their first tournament under Marcelo Bielsa, the Uruguayan team has so far confirmed this role by accumulating a total of three victories, including a 5-0 thrashing of Bolivia and a 1-0 victory over the United States, which eliminated the hosts in front of their home fans.
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Darwin Núñez, one of the great number 9s in the tournament, scored two goals that put him in second place in the scoring charts, led by Argentine Lautaro Martínez with four goals. To keep up with the Inter Milan striker, Darwin will have to beat goalkeeper Allison, his teammate at Liverpool for the last two seasons, on Saturday.
In the other area, Ronald Araújo will lead a defense that will be tested by attackers like Raphinha, with whom he shares the dressing room at Barcelona. While the defender and the striker compete in this Copa América, the directors are racing against time to alleviate the difficult financial situation of the Catalan club.
Given their market value, both Araújo and Raphinha are aiming to be the possible big sale that Barcelona would need to balance their numbers and try to reinforce for next season.
Intimate enemies
In any case, the Uruguayan defender will not have to play the role of ‘anti-Vinícius’ this time around, as has happened in recent editions of ‘El Clásico’ in the Spanish league. The Brazilian Real Madrid forward will watch the game from the stands at the Allegiant Stadium, after being suspended for receiving his second yellow card in the competition.
With the exception of the two goals scored against Paraguay, Vinícius has accumulated more frustrations than joys in this tournament, the latest of which was the penalty that was not awarded in the 1-1 draw against Colombia. Neither the referee nor the VAR indicated a penalty when the star player was brought down by full-back Daniel Muñoz. A mistake later acknowledged by CONMEBOL and which infuriated the Brazilian team, which with a victory over Colombia would have finished first in Group D and avoided Uruguay.
The match is also important for Federico Valverde, a key player in Real Madrid’s recent successes. At 25, Valverde is expected to be the great leader of the Uruguayan midfield, but this demand contrasts with Bielsa’s decisions to substitute him in the first two games.
“You have to respect the changes the coach makes. As a player, who obviously likes to play everything, there are times when I come out a little irritated, but that’s normal,” said the midfielder after the victory over Bolivia, in which he scored a goal.
Valverde’s explosive runs into the box will be one of the biggest threats that the Brazilian defence, where his ‘merengue’ teammate Éder Militão is based, will have to neutralise. The defender, who missed a large part of the season due to a serious knee injury, is a regular starter in a great show of confidence from coach Dorival Júnior, who has benched Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães.
Midfielder Manuel Ugarte will also come face to face with another member of Paris Saint-Germain, defender Marquinhos, while several Uruguayan players will be familiar with Brazilian football in person, such as the Flamengo quartet of Matías Viña, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Guillermo Varela and Nicolás de la Cruz.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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