Edinson Cavani on Thursday scored his 52nd goal for Uruguay in a 2-0 Copa America victory over Bolivia, who became the first team eliminated from the competition.
Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe scored an unlucky own-goal to open the scoring, but at times almost single-handedly kept his side in the game.
Paraguay went second in Group A behind Argentina with a 2-0 win over Chile, who dropped to third with Uruguay fourth.
Photo: AP
The result left Bolivia unable to catch any of the teams above them, who have all qualified for the quarter-finals.
“The appearance of COVID[-19] weakened us. We’ve played well, we tried to play without making mistakes, but we didn’t have any luck,” Bolivia coach Cesar Farias said.
A first-half header from Braian Samudio and a second-half Miguel Almiron penalty gave Paraguay their second victory in three matches.
With one match left, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay can still win Group A, while Brazil, who beat Ecuador 2-1 on Wednesday, have already wrapped up top spot in Group B.
Colombia have also qualified for the quarter-finals, but one of Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela will miss out.
Uruguay thoroughly deserved their first victory of this year’s tournament as they dominated throughout in Cuiaba, registering 22 shots to Bolivia’s four.
“The scoreline doesn’t reflect our dominance, but we’re satisfied,” Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said. “We didn’t make any mistakes in defense.”
“Bolivia didn’t have any clear chances, so we’re happy,” Tabarez said. “It’s nothing to celebrate, but we’re satisfied with the way we played and controlled the match.”
Uruguay’s star veterans Cavani and Suarez were a menace to the Bolivia backline throughout the match, even if they did not always have their shooting boots on.
At one point, the pair somehow contrived to make a mess of a two-on-one situation, delaying shooting opportunities and allowing Lampe to come out and swat the ball off Cavani’s toes.
Uruguay took the lead as Giorgian de Arrascaeta crossed from the right and a sliding Jairo Quinteros, in trying to prevent either of the veteran forwards converting a simple tap-in, deflected the ball off Lampe and into his own net on 40 minutes.
Cavani finally ended Bolivia’s resistance 11 minutes from time, converting a cross from Facundo Torres, who put in a lively cameo off the bench, twice firing narrowly wide.
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