Current:Home > Contact-usUruguay starts Copa America campaign with 3-1 win over Panama-LoTradeCoin
Uruguay starts Copa America campaign with 3-1 win over Panama
View Date:2024-12-23 23:33:35
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Maximiliano Araújo scored when he sent a long-range shot into the top far corner in the 16th minute, Darwin Núñez and Matías Viña added late goals and Uruguay beat Panama 3-1 on Sunday night in its Copa America opener.
Seeking a record 16th Copa America title, Uruguay dominated with 20 shots, including seven on target. Amir Murillo scored late into stoppage time for Panama.
The match drew 33,425 to Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. The stadium is the site of the July 14 final and seven games during the 2026 World Cup.
The United States defeated Bolivia 2-0 in Sunday’s earlier Group C game at Arlington, Texas.
Uruguay plays Bolivia at East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Thursday, when Panama faces the U.S. in Atlanta. The group ends July 1 with a U.S.-Uruguay game at Kansas City, Missouri, and a Panama-Bolivia match in Orlando, Florida. The top two teams move on to the quarterfinals.
Uruguay is tied with Argentina for a record 15 Copa America titles but hasn’t advanced past the quarterfinals since winning its last championship in 2011.
Panama failed to get past the group phase in 2016, its only previous appearance as a guest at South America’s championship.
“I think we were too cautious in front of this team,” Panama coach Thomas Christiansen said through an interpreter. “At some points we had a certain level of fear. The second half was a bit different. We had opportunities. We played a bit higher and did well. That’s what I told the players. Even though we lost against one of the favorite contenders, we are a team that remains eager.”
Araújo scored the first goal after he received a pass from Viña from just outside the penalty area, took a touch and turned. He tapped the ball twice and curled a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera’s outstretched left arm for his second goal in nine international appearances.
Núñez made it 2-0 in the 85th minute after Panama turned over the ball in the center circle. Nicolás de la Cruz played a long cross to Araújo, whose header deflected off a shoulder of Murillo to Núñez. He volleyed from 12 yards for his 12th goal in 24 appearances, his ninth in his last six matches.
Viña boosted the margin to 3-0 with a header from de la Cruz’s free kick in the first minute of stoppage time, outjumping defender Abdiel Ayarza for his first international goal.
Murrillo cut back the ball for space in the fourth minute of stoppage time, sending Araújo spinning, and beat goalkeeper Sergio Rochet from 15 yards in the fourth minute of stoppage time for his ninth goal.
Uruguay has undergone a rebuilding process under Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa after the retirement of Edinson Cavani and Diego Godín, and a young roster has shown its ability to contend. Uruguay beat Lionel Messi and Argentina and also Brazil in World Cup qualifiers, then routed Mexico 4-0 in a friendly early in June.
“It’s only natural that they are candidates for the title,” Bielsa said through an interpreter of Argentina, a team he coached from 1999 to 2004. “As for Uruguay’s expectations, we will see that and build it match by match. My expectation is that each match increasingly helps us to improve on our mistakes.”
Mosquera made four saves to keep the game close until late.
Luis Suárez, the 37-year-old striker who is Uruguay’s career leading scorer and was the player of the tournament in 2011, did not play.
___
AP Copa America coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/copa-america
veryGood! (889)
Related
- Here's what 3 toys were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year
- Industrial robot crushes worker to death as he checks whether it was working properly
- Which stores are open and closed Thanksgiving 2023? See Target, Walmart, Costco holiday hours
- Shania Twain Speaks Out After Very Scary Tour Bus Crash
- Pete Rose fans say final goodbye at 14-hour visitation in Cincinnati
- Movie Review: In David Fincher’s ‘The Killer,’ an assassin hides in plain sight
- Somber bugles and bells mark Armistice Day around the globe as wars drown out peace messages
- The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Wins MotorTrend's SUV of the Year
- Minnesota man is free after 16 years in prison for murder that prosecutors say he didn’t commit
- After a Last-Minute Challenge to New Loss and Damage Deal, U.S. Joins Global Consensus Ahead of COP28
Ranking
- The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
- Could creativity transform medicine? These artists think so
- Florida deputies struck intentionally by man driving car recovering after surgeries, sheriff says
- 5.0 magnitude quake strikes Dominican Republic near border with Haiti
- Congress heard more testimony about UFOs: Here are the biggest revelations
- Which stores are open and closed Thanksgiving 2023? See Target, Walmart, Costco holiday hours
- Sam Bankman-Fried is guilty, and the industry he helped build wants to move on
- Bengals WR Tee Higgins out, WR Ja'Marr Chase questionable for Sunday's game vs. Texans
Recommendation
-
Eva Longoria calls US 'dystopian' under Trump, has moved with husband and son
-
Korean Singer Nahee Dead at 24
-
Is C.J. Stroud's early NFL success a surprise? Not if you know anything about his past.
-
SEC, Big Ten showdowns headline the seven biggest games of Week 11 in college football
-
Video shows masked man’s apparent attempt to kidnap child in NYC; suspect arrested
-
100 cruise passengers injured, some flung to the floor and holding on for dear life as ship hits fierce storm on way to U.K.
-
Judge rejects dismissal, rules Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Daily Mail can go to trial
-
Projects featuring Lady Bird Johnson’s voice offer new looks at the late first lady