Chile vs. Uruguay – Match Report – March 29, 2022 – ESPN

The San Carlos de Apoquindo stadium, hanging over the Andean foothills, buried this Tuesday, with two goals from Uruguay, the best generation of Chilean soccer, which after making history seven years ago, has been left without a World Cup for the second consecutive edition.

Uruguay, with a great goal from Luis Suárez and another goal from Federico Valvderde, beat La Roja 2-0 and finished third in the South American qualifiers after eighteen games.

Chile, who was seeking this Tuesday the possibility of reaching fifth place, which gives the right to play a playoff, was in the seventh step with 19 points, five from his goal, which Peru ended up taking.

On the small stadium where the Catholic University plays its matches, Martín Lasarte lined up five players who were starters in the 2016 Copa América final, all of them from the spine, and there were not six due to the forced absence of the captain and goalkeeper Claudius Bravo.

Another five more were on the bench and as new blood only Tijuana striker Joaquín Montecinos appeared, very active on the right and a diminished Ben Brereton Díaz, who barely entered the match, very aware of his ankle.

Under these conditions, a Uruguay that did not have emergencies, since it had reached its direct classification the previous Thursday, started more concentrated, with very high pressure led by ‘Pajarito’ Valverde, the most advanced and incisive midfielder, well escorted by De la Cruz , with Cavani as a very active reference, and better protected by Betancourt, the best of the match in the first half.

With an agile football, without big lardes, the Charrúas tested the Chilean goalkeeper Brayan Cortés up to four times, who was the true hero of his team in the first 45 minutes, with three excellent saves that sustained the Red.

A TIRED GENERATION

The first, at 10 minutes, to a spectacular whiplash from Valverde from outside the area, a quarter of an hour later to another distant shot from Betancourt and on 43 to a header from Luis Suarez, who entered in the 28th replacing Cavani, who left very sore in the worst of news for Celeste.

From Chile, only a few glimpses of Alexis Sánchez, the will of Montecinos, something stable from Kuscevic -who got a yellow card for elbowing Suarez- and little more than a team in which players like Vidal are already a shadow of what they were and that it seems to cry out for a renovation.

Martín Lasarte’s men came out with the same will and desire for victory in the second half, although by then they already knew that ‘the miracle of San Apoquindo’ was already almost a feat because Peru led Paraguay by two goals.

However, the midfield made up of Arturo Vidal, Erick Pulgar and Charles Aránguiz, all of them two-time champions of the Americas seven years ago, could barely cope with the youth and power of the Uruguayan line made up of Valverde, Betancurt, De la Cruz and Rossi.

In particular these last two, who went out to the field knowing that it was an opportunity to guarantee their presence on the list that will go to Qatar and show Diego Alonso that they can compete for the title.

More doubts were left in the goal by Sergió Rochet, the national goalkeeper, who in a game in which he was little demanded showed fragility in the aerial game and insecurity with his feet.

Another of the questions that remained open in Uruguay is who should carry the point of attack in Qatar.

If you bet on the experience of Suárez, who is already in his physical decline but scored one of the prettiest goals in the Qualifiers this Tuesday, if it will be Cavani, also harassed by the years, or there will be renewal options with a Darwin Nuñez who knocks loudly on the door of ownership.

For Chile, Montecinos left a good feeling, who had a good chance in the second half, and the Palmeiras centre-back, Kusecvic, who denied Lucas Torreira a goal in a play that ended in a corner and in a penalty claim for handball in the area of ​​a Chilean defender.

And so on, until in the 79th minute, the great Chilean goal of ‘Pistolero’ Luis Suárez arrived, who raised his tally to 29 goals and became the all-time top scorer in the South American World Cup qualifiers.