Luis Suárez denies Canada as Uruguay snatch third-place at Copa América

Uruguay needed a late equalizer and penalties to beat Canada in the Copa América third-place match on Saturday, with head coach Marcelo Bielsa insisting the South American side had underperformed.

Uruguay, ranked 14th in the world, were on the verge of a surprise defeat to the 48th-placed debutants in the Copa America before Luis Suárez scored in injury time to force a penalty shootout, which Bielsa’s side won 4-3. Canada made a number of changes to their line-up for the match and looked fresher as they caused Uruguay a number of problems.

“It wasn’t a great performance,” Bielsa told reporters. “The draw was barely deserved at best. I think the decision by the opponent’s head coach to prioritise physical fitness over the usual starters was more successful. I went with the usual starters, even though they were tired. There were ups and downs. The chances both teams created were equal, but to be honest, we didn’t play well.

“As for this third place, I think Uruguay is one of the three best teams in this tournament. Even if this tournament comes after long seasons and the fatigue affects the players, I thought that, given our selection, we could have played a little better than what we showed.”

Bielsa’s colleague Jesse Marsch, the former Leeds manager who took charge of Canada in May, said he was proud of the progress the team had made in a short period, adding: “The players are disappointed with the way we gave the game away. But I was very positive for them. We’ve been together for just over six weeks now. We came into this game, put some new players on the pitch, played against one of the best teams in the world for me and dominated the game.

“We are still a young team. If you look at their team, they have experienced players on all fronts, players who play at big clubs, a lot of experience in understanding how to deal with moments. And we are still developing that.”

The American also praised the Canadian fringe players for quickly adapting to his style of play despite entering the match with little playing time.

“The great thing was the clarity with which the way we play was executed by the new players that came in,” Marsch said. “It’s not so easy to build a tactical model with such a short time and under such high pressure against such good opponents and then see how they react and perform and execute at such a high level. So, again, what a positive sign. What a great group of guys. What incredible potential we have with this team.”