Uruguay needed a stoppage-time goal from Luis Suarez to survive Canada scare an rally back to win Copa America 2024 third-place playoff, MySportDab reports.
The two sides came off a disappointing semi-final clash, hoping to clinch the last available silverware in the tournament after a prolific run from the group stage.
Against expectations, Canada, under the stern tutelage of European football veteran, Jesse Marsch, were the better side throughout the game.
A goal-mouth scramble early in the first half had seen Rodrigo Bentacur fire Uruguay into the lead but the goal would be Uruguay’s last big chance in the first half.
Canada wielded unrivaled control over proceedings going forward and were looking set to nail home the equaliser.
Eight minutes before the half-hour, the Jesse Marsch-led side’s dominance finally paid off. Ismael Kone scored a brilliant equaliser to peg back the Uruguayans to a 1-1 draw.
Kone’s strike was enough to send the two teams into the break with a draw as they ran off the remaining 23 minutes with no goal.
The second half saw Canada begin on the front foot but it was a near-barren before Jesse Marsch brought on impact substitute, Jonathan David.
A few minutes after coming on, Jonathan David, latched on an uncleared rebound from Uruguay goalkeeper and fired into the bottom-right corner.
The 80th-minute strike saw Canada took an unlikely late lead to close in on their first Copa America silverware.
However, the jubilations were cut short when legendary striker, Luis Suarez, scored with the last touch of the game to peg the hard-fighting Canadians to a dramatic 2-2 draw.
The goal took the game into shootouts. Kone, who scored the equaliser for the Canadians, missed the team’s third spot-kick, with Uruguay running out with a 4-3 victory to win the third-place playoff.
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