Early header seals win for Argentina against Uruguay
An initial half goal from Guido Rodriguez, his first in 11 international appearances, gave Argentina a 1-0 make an impression on Uruguay within their Copa America clash on Friday.
The Real Betis midfielder headed home a Lionel Messi cross after 10 minutes to provide Argentina all three points and condemn their neighbors to a losing learn to their Copa campaign.
The result in a casino game that was both end-to-end but lacking in real excitement leaves Uruguay joint bottom of Group A with no points, alongside Bolivia, who have played two and lost two.
Argentina's Lionel Messi doing his thing with Uruguay's Diego Godin
"We deserved to win," said Argentinian midfielder Rodrigo de Paul. "Today we tried to be more compact, to create it more challenging to score against. In advance we've monstrous players who can get goals at at any time of the match."
The result in a casino game that was end-to-end but lacking in real excitement at a cavernously empty stadium in Brasilia leaves Uruguay joint bottom of Group A without points, alongside Bolivia, who have played two and lost two.
Argentina transfer to joint top spot with four points alongside Chile, who beat Bolivia 1-0 previously Friday. Paraguay have three points in one game.
Striker Edinson Cavani was back for Uruguay after missing the last two games through suspension and he produced mostly of the memorable occasions for his side when he was unfortunate to visit a loud shout for a penalty waved away after 26 minutes.
It had been indicative of Uruguay's unhappy night that although that they had slightly more of the possession they never managed a go on goal the complete match.
At the other end, Messi caused problems for Uruguay along with his dribbles within the last third but he was frequently crowded out by Uruguayan defenders.
The result extended Argentina's unbeaten run to 15 games since they lost in the semi-final of the last Copa America in 2019.
In addition, it snapped a run of three consecutive draws and boosted the confidence of a side aware their great rival Brazil are scoring freely and so are hot favorites to win a second consecutive Copa America playing at home.
"We've lacked somewhat of luck to get victories (recently)," said Argentina's second half substitute Angel Di Maria. "Today we were able to do that against a direct rival who are always contenders for the Copa America."
"Brazil will be the best team (so far)," he added. "We're taking it step-by-step and the dream is alive, I hope we are able to make it become a reality. Argentina are always a applicant (for the title) but Brazil are in home and so are doing things perfectly."
Argentina's next game is against Paraguay on Monday, while Uruguay take on Chile the same day.
