again Uruguay without purpose. Back in dry dock. September and October passed for the celestial without conversion. In this return of the South American Qualifiers in 2024, they were left with zero against Paraguay in Montevideo, Venezuela in Maturín, Peru in Lima on Friday and today Ecuador again at Centennial. He is back to dropping points at home and although third in the table, he is experiencing a worrying present.
Marcelo Bielsa made an almost complete eleven, as he had the return of Josema Giménez and Matias Olivera behind him, and once again he relied on Darwin Nuñez on offense, due to the TAS decision to suspend the execution of his five-game sentence . With Pellistri and Maxi Araújo at the extreme, with Ugarte and De Arrascaeta in the middle. But again, this is not enough.
In the first half the light blue set the pace. The blow of Friday’s loss against Peru had an impact. Fede Valverde led the way, scoring a great assist for Darwin, a free kick that almost scored, and another very solid and almost perfect right hand. Uruguay had six scoring chances, but failed to convert.
Bielsa’s team bit every ball, turned the game towards Galíndez’s goal, had rhythm, dominated, but the ‘but’ was in the goal. They went into half-time tied 0-0.
In the second half it fell, and Ecuador grew. The team felt the effort of the first half, they needed changes to refresh the offense, but Bielsa chose not to put anyone on the bench. The coach explained later in a press conference that he did not want to expose the youth to a difficult time for the team. But then, who appointed them, who put them in as substitutes, who pushed the process of exiting the most veterans if not the Rosario coach in charge of Uruguay?
Ecuador dominated in the end, and calmly watched out the final minutes, saving a crucial draw as visitors to Centenario in Montevideo.
At the end, the whistles. It’s been years since the celestial received whistles from the stands. Uruguay remains third in the table, but is closing the gap on its chasers. Marcelo Bielsa has support from the fans and keeps the credit. But like all credit, if it’s not fed, it’s gone.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
