Uruguay needed a late equaliser and penalties to beat Canada in Saturday’s Copa América third-place playoff match, with head coach Marcelo Bielsa insisting the South American side had performed well below their level. Uruguay, ranked 14th in the world, were on the verge of a shock defeat to the 48th-ranked Copa America debutants before Luis Suárez scored a stoppage-time goal to force a penalty shootout, which Bielsa’s side won 4-3. Canada made several changes to their lineup for the match and looked the fresher side as they caused Uruguay a number of problems.
“It wasn’t a great performance”, Bielsa told reporters. “The draw, at best, was barely deserved. I think that the opponent head coach’s decision to prioritise physical aptitude instead of usual starters was more successful.
I went with the usual starters in spite of them being weary. There were ups and downs. The chances created by both teams were even, but in all truth, we didn’t play well.
“Regarding this third place, I do think Uruguay is one of the three best teams of this tournament. Even if this tournament came after long seasons and the tiredness affects players, I thought that given our roster, we could have played a bit better than what we showed.” Bielsa’s counterpart 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 in the way that we gave the match aw.
