Of course it had to be Luis Suarez.
The 37-year-old Inter Miami striker, one of the most divisive and controversial players in soccer, came off the bench to level for Uruguay in stoppage time and force this chaotic game to a penalty shootout.
Ismael Kone, who had earlier scored a brilliantly innovative goal, and Alphonso Davies, the star of this Canada team, both failed to convert their penalties to give Uruguay victory.
Rodrigo Bentancur had put Uruguay ahead with a sharp angled finish and Kone equalized for Canada with… well, we’re not quite sure what it was. A standing bicycle kick with one foot planted on the ground, maybe? Anyway, it was ambitious and audacious — and we like that.
Facundo Pellestri saw his first-half goal disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review but then Jonathan David came off the bench to score for Canada in the 80th minute. His side looked set for a $1 million windfall (the team that finishes third at Copa America receives $5 million and the fourth $4 million) but Suarez had other ideas.
Throw in two former Leeds United coaches’ pre-match comments — Marcelo Bielsa said the tournament was “unprofessional” and Jesse Marsch claimed his side has been treated like “second-class” citizens — and this was always going to be a lively encounter.
And ultimately it was Uruguay and Bielsa who came out on top.
Pablo Maurer, Joshua Kloke and Jack Lang dissect the big talking points…
Enter, Luis Suarez…
What a pleasure it was to watch Uruguayan legend Luis Suarez in his final Copa America match. He scored his 69th international goal on Saturday night and did so in the most dramatic fashion imaginable, notching Uruguay’s equalizer deep into stoppage time. Moments later, he struck an inch-perfect penalty to push Uruguay to victory.
It was a bit of redemption for Suarez. Despite the player’s insistence that he was unbothered by playing only a handful of minutes across Uruguay’s first five matches, many in the Uruguayan press had publicly criticized Bielsa for not incorporating him further. On Saturday, El Loco did so, inserting him at halftime. The Inter Miami striker did not let him down.
“I’m enjoying every moment very much,” Suarez told Uruguayan media earlier in the tournament. “It is something that at my age, as you get older, you enjoy it more and more whether you’re playing a lot or playing a little, because you know that the flame of football is dying out.”
On Saturday, on a narrow, patchy field in Charlotte, North Carolina, we watched that flame get even dimmer. For a moment, though, it burned very bright.
Pablo Maurer
What does this mean for Canada?
A third-place finish resulting in $5 million instead of $4 million would have meant plenty for Canada. The organization needs the cash! But this is the sort of cash few could have ever expected when Copa America kicked off well over three weeks ago, too.
But more than the financial windfall, from a Canadian perspective this fourth-place finish just reinforces the newfound confidence the entire organization should have about the state of the program. Canada can now boast about having beaten the likes of Peru and Venezuela and nearly squeaking past Uruguay in the span of a few weeks. The only team they lost to at Copa America in 90 minutes is World Cup holders Argentina. Remember, this is a team that looked bereft of ideas after the 2022 World Cup with continued deflating losses and only qualified for this tournament in a one-game playoff.
David equalized for Canada (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
There will be some who claim that Canada got through the tournament with an easy group and that their knockout round win came against a weak Venezuela side, sure. But Canada’s renaissance continued with a very respectable performance against a nearly full-strength Uruguay team. Game by game, Canada continued to look like a team that could utilize game-breaking speed and physicality in a meaningful way.
Joshua Kloke
Kone’s… standing bicycle?
How do you even describe Kone’s goal? It was at once a bicycle kick, a hooked volley and a lob, yet it was also none of those.
A standing bicycle? That just about covers it, but it still doesn’t quite capture the incredible invention and athleticism Kone displayed. In that situation, most players would probably have tried a header, which wouldn’t have worked. Kone came up with something completely novel and had the hamstrings to pull it off.
CANADA TIES IT 🇨🇦
What a finish this was by Koné 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zmvEaw692y
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 14, 2024
This, surely, is what third-place matches are all about. Sure, there’s a bit of extra prize money on offer but no one really cares who wins. They are, at their best, a reminder that playing football is an end in itself. No pressure, no worries. And Kone’s moment of levitation was the ultimate slice of throwaway genius — even if his penalty in the shootout left a lot to be desired.
GO DEEPER
Canada’s Jesse Marsch sees signs of a champion in Ismael Kone
Jack Lang
Did Uruguay have a point to prove?
Uruguay’s players have been through hell and high water in recent days. There was the team’s gutting loss to Colombia in the semifinals and then there was everything that happened after it — a handful of Uruguayan players entered the seating area at Bank of America Stadium and clashed with spectators.
In the aftermath of all of that, tournament organizers CONMEBOL opened an investigation into the incident, and some outlets in South America reported that as many as 10 Uruguayan players might face some form of disciplinary action. Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa then turned his pre-match press conference into an opportunity to ether CONMEBOL for what he said was its security failings, the condition of the pitches and a host of other issues.
Bielsa gets close to the turf he has little time for (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Uruguay has faced their own criticisms, stylistically. Bielsa’s teams have always been high-energy, hard-nosed sides and this current Uruguay squad is no exception. Their quarterfinal clash against Brazil was the tournament’s dirtiest match, and Bielsa faced plenty of criticism for his side’s style of play. Canada, too, have sometimes been accused of playing dirty, something Marsch balked at before Saturday’s match.
Undoubtedly Bielsa — and Uruguay’s entire squad — entered tonight’s match with much to play for beyond prize money and the tournament table. And with their gutsy performance — a stoppage-time equalizer and some well-struck penalties — they earned a small slice of redemption.
Pablo Maurer
Why were there so many empty seats?
The presence of Canada and Uruguay in this match was probably a disappointment to tournament organizers — neither side is a massive draw in the United States. The crowd at Bank of America Stadium felt almost comically small at times, with massive swaths of empty seats present in both the lower and upper bowls and an entire side of the upper deck completely empty. It’s also perhaps worth noting that the European Championship does not bother with a third-place playoff.
There were plenty of empty seats (Getty Images)
CONMEBOL has said that attendance figures from this tournament are on track to match those of Copa America Centenario in 2016, which was also played in the United States. Ticket prices for group stage and elimination matches alike have reached into the hundreds and on the secondary market, they can reach four figures. There have been other issues: lackluster marketing has led to underwhelming crowds at massive NFL stadiums and sweltering heat has caused issues at some matches.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday, on a relatively nice evening in Charlotte.
Some are looking at this tournament as a dry run for the 2026 World Cup. It remains to be seen what lessons — if any — the organizers of that tournament will learn from this one.
Pablo Maurer
Did Canada’s changed line-up work?
Jesse Marsch has been clear from the moment he was hired he had one overarching goal in mind: for Canada to contend on home soil at the 2026 World Cup.
Every decision made is with the World Cup in mind, and perhaps the most prominent example of that approach was evident in the line-up Marsch rolled out for the third-place game. Canada’s new head coach heavily rotated with four players making their first start of Copa America.
Marsch’s preferred 13 (or so) players for 2026 are well-established but his secondary core of players have yet to emerge. By keeping Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David and Stephen Eustaquio on the bench against Uruguay and instead starting the likes of Tani Oluwaseyi, Mathieu Choiniere, Ali Ahmed and most notably, 18-year-old centre-back Luc De Fougerolles, Marsch gave younger players the opportunity to play valuable minutes in a must-win tournament game. It’s a long-term bet that these minutes will pay off come 2026 and De Fougerolles, for example, will become more accustomed to playing difficult opponents like Uruguay in two years.
Also, it’s worth noting the $1 million difference in prize money between the third and fourth-placed teams is not insignificant for an organization who aren’t rolling in cash like Canada Soccer. That Marsch was able to make this call suggests the organization is all in on what he’s trying to do for 2026.
GO DEEPER
USMNT, Canada and Mexico: How the 2026 World Cup hosts fared at Copa America
Outside of some nervy moments from De Fougerolles, Canada’s new starters showed well. Add it up and Marsch’s decision looks like another clever one.
Joshua Kloke
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(Top photo: Getty Images)
