A brace from Luis Suarez sent Uruguay into the finals of the Copa America in La Plata, with a 2-0 victory over the battling Inca outfit.
Uruguay in Final of Copa America
Suarez found the net twice in five minutes to put the game to rest in the opening stages of the second half. Suarez now has scored thrice in the tournament, which makes him the joint lead scorer in the cup along with Sergio Aguero.
Peru’s fight for survival was not made easy when Captain Vargas was shown red for an elbow. But Peruvian fans will be happy with the way their team went out, not holding up their hands till the end.
The game started excitingly, with either side trying to go ahead. The result was a huge amount of fouls, and Victor Yotun managed to get booked in the very first minute.
Raul Fernandez, Peru’s goalkeeper, was the hero with 15 minutes gone, twice denying Alvaro Pereira at his feet when a goal looked certain.
Uruguay kept the pressure up, but the resolute Peru backline did not cave in. Diego Forlan threatened twice, but though his efforts were impressive, he failed to get his team on the scoresheet. Captain Diego Lugano found the back of the net, only for the goal to be disallowed for a foul on Fernandez and the teams finished the first half neck to neck.
But the much awaited goal came just after half time in the 52nd minute, when Forlan tried the extraordinary, and Fernandez spilled the ball, which was dutifully sent home by the pouncing Suarez.
The Liverpool man slotted second just minutes later to make it 2-0. Alvaro Pereira, who was Uruguay’s leading goal-scorer till that point in the tournament, found Suarez with a meticulous pass, and the bunny-toothed striker made sure to find the back of the net, neatly rounding the keeper and rolling the ball in, sending the Uruguayans into joy and the finals.
Already on the ropes, Peru’s chances took a further blow when Vargas was shown a red card for landing an elbow on Sebastian Coates. Peru kept trying, but could not find the means to break through the Uruguay back-line, leaving Diego Forlan and company to claim victory by a two-goal margin.
The win puts Oscar Tabarez’s team into the final for the first time since 1999. They will play the winner of Paraguay-Venezuela this Sunday in the Monumental.
Tags: Copa America, Football, La Plata, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
