Bolivia knocked out as Cavani lands Uruguay their first Copa win 

On Thursday, Edinson Cavani scored his 52nd goal for Uruguay in a 2-0 Copa America victory over Bolivia, which became the tournament’s first side to be eliminated.

Carlos Lampe, the goalkeeper for Bolivia, scored an unlucky own goal to begin the scoring, but he almost single-handedly kept his team in the game at moments.

With a 2-0 win over Chile, Paraguay moved into second place in Group A, behind Argentina. Chile dropped to third, and Uruguay to fourth.

Bolivia now has little chance of catching any of the teams ahead of them, who have all qualified for the quarter-finals.

“Covid’s appearance weakened us. Bolivia coach Cesar Farias said, “We played well, we tried not to make any mistakes, but we didn’t have any luck.”

Paraguay won its second match in a row thanks to a first-half header from Braian Samudio and a second-half penalty from Miguel Almiron.

Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay still have a chance to win Group A with one match remaining, but Brazil has already clinched the top spot in Group B after a controversial 2-1 win against Ecuador on Wednesday.

Colombia is also in the quarter-finals, however one of Peru, Ecuador, or Venezuela will be eliminated. Uruguay deservedly won their opening match of the tournament in Cuiaba, where they outshot Bolivia by a margin of 22 to four.

Uruguay’s 74-year-old coach Oscar Tabarez remarked, “The scoreboard doesn’t represent our domination, but we’re happy.”

“We’re delighted since Bolivia didn’t have any clear opportunities. Although there’s nothing to rejoice about, we’re pleased with how we played and controlled the game.

Even though they didn’t always have their shooting boots on, Uruguay’s star veterans Cavani and Suarez — the two most prolific attackers in Uruguay’s history — were a threat to the Bolivian backline throughout the encounter.

The two managed to make a mess of a two-on-one scenario at one point, delaying shooting possibilities and allowing Lampe to rush out and swat the ball off Cavani’s toes.
Uruguay’s Giorgian De Arrascaeta had already scored, and Lampe had sprinted out to stop a Suarez attempt.

Rodrigo Ramallo had Bolivia’s finest chance in the first half, sneaking past the Uruguayan defense and firing a shot inches wide from an angle.

Lampe went full stretch to push Suarez’s freekick around the post after he struck the side-netting with a header.

In the meanwhile, Uruguay seized the lead when De Arrascaeta crossed from the right and a diving Jairo Quinteros deflected the ball off Lampe and into his own net on 40 minutes, preventing either of the experienced strikers from finishing an easy tap-in.

After the interval, Lampe was right in the thick of things, making a reflex stop from Cavani’s seven-yard poke, tipping a powerful drive from Rodrigo Betancur over the bar, and scrambling backward to block a Suarez lob from near to halfway.

Fernando Muslera, his opposite number, was rarely put into action, but he did have to save a long-range shot from Ramiro Vaca.

Cavani, who had previously headed over from close range, eventually broke Bolivia’s resistance 11 minutes from time, finishing a cross from Facundo Torres, who had a lively cameo off the bench, shooting barely over twice.

On 33 minutes in Brasilia, Samudio soared above two defenders to smash a header into the top corner from Almiron’s corner, leaving goalkeeper Claudio Bravo glued to his line.

Gary Medel was punished for clambering all over Carlos Gonzalez in the area, allowing Almiron to send goalkeeper Claudio Bravo the wrong way from the penalty spot on 58 minutes, thus ending Chile’s chances of getting back into the game.

When Pablo Galdames seemed to rugby tackle Almiron moments later, it appeared as though Paraguay would get a second penalty, but it was surprisingly not granted, even after a VAR check.