PREVIEW – Canada v Uruguay will be the last game for both teams in the 2024 Copa América competition. While both teams are disappointed not to compete for the championship on Sunday, there is still a lot to play for on Saturday. Uruguay will be seen as the favourites to win the game, but Canada can surprise and have the capability to win the game against Uruguay.
Canada v Uruguay: Both Teams Look to End Tournament on a High
Canada
“And then yeah, one of the things that we lacked this you call a killer instinct so you can say this, but I think we just lacked efficiency in the final third every match we created big chances and if we could have been a little bit cleaner in some of these moments then then maybe we’d have a few more leads in the tournament,” Marsch said. “But, you know, that part will have to continue to build but there’s so many positives about the last few weeks.”
Marsch commented on the lack of finishing and that will be something Uruguay will hope continues in the third-place Copa América game. However, he does mention that there are a lot of positives with this group and this writer agrees. Canada has the ability to face big teams like Argentina and France, and, if there were more clinical, they might have gotten a result against Argentina in the semi-final or the group stage game.
It shows that Canada can compete with the best in the world. However, it will also not be an easy game as they face Uruguay heading into Saturday evening. Their play has also been reflected in the ratings, as 18 percent of the Canadian population tuned into Tuesday’s game against Argentina.
Uruguay
There is a lot to unpack with the Uruguay-Colombia game. As for the game itself, Colombia was the better team. Despite being a man up for about half the game, Colombia still had double the shots on goal compared to Uruguay. There were some unfortunate events that happened after the game with Marcelo Bielsa saying this:
This is something that needs to be addressed. There was an X Tweet by Favian Rankel on what happened between the Uruguayan and the Colombian fans. Unfortunately, because families of other players were affected, this is something CONMEBOL and the U.S. organizers of the tournament must make sure never happens again.
Injuries/Suspensions
According to Favian Renkel, there were 11 Uruguayan players that were suspended from Wednesday’s game. However, Renkel also confirmed that all these players will be able to play against Canada on Saturday.
However, there was a Uruguayan player named Guillermo Varela, who will be suspended for Saturday’s game as he got a red card late against Colombia on Wednesday.
As for Canada, there is the concern about Alphonso Davies playing in the game. This is what Marsch said about him (Source: RPC TV):
“We were lucky that we dodged any major injury to Alphonso, but we are not totally sure that he will be available,” said the coach.
Head-To-Head and How to Watch the Game
READ MORE: Julián Álvarez Continues His Success Against the CANMNT
Both Canada and Uruguay have only faced each other two times in their national teams’ histories. Canada have lost both times, which included losing 2-0 in September 2022, just two months before the 2022 FIFA World Cup started.
The game will take place at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 13 at 8:00pm ET. It will also be televised nationally on TSN/RDS in Canada.
Photo Credit: Canada Soccer EN X Account and the Canada Soccer FR X Account on July 9, 2024.
