Uruguay shrugged off controversy surrounding their opening goal to seal a thrilling 4-2 win over Peru in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday, while Ecuador enjoyed a 1-0 win over Colombia.
The win lifted Copa America holders Uruguay into second place in the South American group, a point behind leaders Chile and one ahead of Argentina, while Ecuador’s win in Quito saw them climb to fourth.
Uruguay took the lead after 15 minutes in controversial fashion, centerback Sebastian Coates’ goal-bound header looked to be touched on by striker Luis Suarez and Peru’s Antonio Gonzales tried to block the ball on the goal-line.
Photo: AFP
Peru coach Sergio Markarian said he had been told the ball had not crossed the line and that there was also a hint of offside about Uruguay’s second.
“I got [telephone] calls that tell me the ball didn’t go in for the first goal,” Markarian told a press conference.
“They tell me that for the second goal there is offside,” he added, referring to Maxi Pereira’s strike on the half-hour that put the hosts two up.
Peru got back on level terms with an own-goal from Uruguay defender Diego Godin and a volley from striker Paolo Guerrero either side of the interval.
Diego Forlan had a penalty saved by Peru’s Diego Penny, but Uruguay romped home with goals from substitutes Cristian Rodriguez and Sebastian Eguren to complete their third four-goal haul in five matches.
Markarian would not judge Brazilian referee Leandro Vuaden’s performance, but said the loss was hard to swallow.
“I’m not going to make a value judgement over the refereeing, nor do I want to stain Uruguay’s victory, which was fair without doubt, but I’m left with a sour taste, a hard defeat,” he said.
Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez was full of praise for the performance of injury-hit Peru, whose hopes of reaching their first World Cup finals since 1982 dimmed as they prop up the table with three points.
“Peru showed they’re a team who are alive. They went out to fight for a win, creating problems with a high degree of efficiency, scoring twice and they had two or three more chances,” he said. “We’re very satisfied to have managed this triumph, which was so difficult, and I think it shows clearly how much parity there is in South American football. No match is won or decided beforehand.”
Tabarez’s comments could also have described the tight match in Quito nearly 3,000m above sea level, where Ecuador once again made their advantage in the rarefied air pay off with their third victory in five qualifiers.
Striker Cristian Benitez headed the only goal nine minutes after halftime, leaving Colombia coach Jose Pekerman with plenty of work to do to lift his team from sixth place in the next two rounds in September.
Ecuador defender Cristian Noboa was sent off in the 86th minute after receiving a second booking.
“It was a tight match, we need to be more competitive. I think there are still chances to keep looking for a place at the World Cup,” Pekerman told reporters.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS