La Celeste were well above the Bolivian selection and it took them only eight minutes to open the scoring in this meeting, with a header from young midfielder Facundo Pellistri. Then, Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez doubled the lead (21st). Marcelo Bielsa’s men unfolded at the end of the second half with goals from Maximiliano Araujo (77th), Federico Valverde (81st) and finally Rodrigo Bentancur (89th).
La Verde, who only had one shot on target in this meeting, have not won a single match in the Copa America since 2015 and their match against Ecuador (3-2). Uruguay, for its part, moved closer to the quarter-finals of the competition.
USA in difficulty for qualification
In the other Group C match, the host of the 48th edition of the Copa America had to play almost the entire match outnumbered after the expulsion of Timothy Weah (18th). The Juventus player received a red card for a punch to the back of the head of Panamanian defender Roderick Miller.
Despite the absence of their 24-year-old striker, the United States bounced back quickly by opening the scoring with a curling shot from Folarin Balogun, from the edge of the area (22nd). Four minutes later, Panama responded with an equalizer from defender César Blackman (26th). And, it was finally José Fajardo who gave Panama the victory (83rd, 2-1).
The qualification for the quarter-finals of the Copa America will therefore be played on the third and final day of the group stage for Group C. Uruguay is in a good position with six points from two matches, the United States and Panama have three points each with an advantage for the host thanks to goal difference. As a reminder, only the top two in the group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
