Uruguay takes third place in Copa America, but Bielsa is far from satisfied

 

Uruguay needed a late equaliser and penalties to beat Canada in the Copa America third-place play-off on Saturday, with coach Marcelo Bielsa saying the South American team played well below their level.

Canada made several changes to their lineup for the match and looked like a fresher team, despite causing Uruguay a fair amount of trouble.

Uruguay, ranked 14th in the world, were on the brink of a shock defeat against the 48th-ranked team, making their Copa America debut, before Luis Suarez scored an injury-time goal to force a penalty shootout, which Bielsa’s team won 4-3.

“It wasn’t a great performance. The draw was, at best, barely deserved. I think the opposing coach’s decision to prioritise physicality rather than the usual starters was more successful,” Bielsa told reporters.

“I fielded the usual starters even though they were tired. There were ups and downs. The chances created by both teams were equal, but to tell the truth we didn’t play well.

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

Bielsa’s colleague Jesse Marsch, who took over as Canada coach in May, said he was proud of the progress the team had made in a short period, adding: “The players were disappointed with the way we gave away the game.

“But I was very positive with them. We were together for a little over six weeks. We came to this game, we put new players on the field, we played for me against one of the best teams in the world and we dominated the game.

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

The American also praised the most promising Canadian players for quickly adapting to his style of play, despite having played little.

“The nice thing was how clearly the new players implemented our way of playing,” Marsch said.

“It’s not that easy to build a tactical model with such a short time and under such great stress against such good opponents and then see them respond, 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.” [Reuters]

The post Uruguay take third place in Copa America, but Bielsa is far from satisfied appeared first on TheConclaveNg.