Of course, it had to be Luis Suarez.
The 37-year-old Inter Miami forward, one of the most controversial and controversial players in football, came on to equalise for Uruguay in added time and force the chaotic match into a penalty shootout.
Ismael Koné, who scored a brilliant and innovative goal, and Alphonso Davies, the star of this Canadian team, failed to convert their penalties to give Uruguay victory.
Rodrigo Bentancur had put Uruguay ahead with a sharp angled shot and Koné had equalized for Canada with… well, we’re not sure what it was. A standing bicycle with one foot planted on the ground, perhaps? Either way, it was ambitious and bold — and we like it.
Facundo Pellistri’s first-half goal was disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review, but Jonathan David then came on to score for Canada in the 80th minute. His team looked set to win a million dollars (the team that finishes third in the Copa America receives $5 million and the team that finishes fourth $4 million), but Suarez had other ideas.
LUIS SUÁREZ EQUALS IN THE 92ND MINUTE 😱🇺🇾 pic.twitter.com/lD1toPMhUX
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 14, 2024
Add to that the pre-match comments from two former Leeds United managers – Marcelo Bielsa said the tournament was “unprofessional” and Jesse Marsch claimed his team had been treated like “second-class” citizens – and this was always going to be a lively encounter.
And in the end, it was Uruguay and Bielsa who won.
Pablo Maurer, Joshua Kloke and Jack Lang dissect the big topics of discussion…
Intire, Luis Suarez…
What a treat to watch Uruguayan legend Luis Suarez play his final Copa America game. He scored his 69th international goal on Saturday night and did it in the most spectacular way possible, scoring Uruguay’s equaliser deep into injury time. Moments later, he converted a perfect penalty to give Uruguay victory.
It was a kind of redemption for Suarez. Despite the player’s insistence that he had not been bothered by playing only a few minutes in Uruguay’s first five games, many Uruguayan journalists had publicly criticised Bielsa for not incorporating him more. On Saturday, El Loco did just that, introducing him at half-time. The Inter Miami forward did not disappoint.
(Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
“I’m enjoying every moment,” Suarez told Uruguayan media at the start of the tournament. “It’s something that at my age, as you get older, you appreciate more and more, whether you play a lot or a little, because you know that the flame of football is going out.”
In a narrow, rugged field in Charlotte, North Carolina, we saw that flame grow even fainter. For a moment, however, it burned very brightly.
Pablo Maurer
What does this mean for Canada?
For starters, a third-place finish that pays $5 million instead of $4 million hurts Canada. Yes, that’s money few could have hoped to receive when the Copa America began more than three weeks ago. But the organization needs the money!
Canada has every reason to be confident and maintain a high level of self-belief after a remarkable run at the Copa America that few saw coming. This is a team that, after the World Cup and until 2023, was out of contention and only qualified for the Copa America after a close playoff game.
David equalized for Canada (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
One of the biggest positives from the result was Jonathan David’s play as a substitute. David’s finishing has been criticized at the tournament, but his second goal for Canada against Uruguay was a reminder of how cool he can be in front of goal.
But despite all that, a crushing penalty shootout loss to Uruguay remains a lesson for Canada in the long run. At their best, they have controlled games and produced gutsy results. The fact that they let a late lead slip should remind them of how difficult it is to maintain control against the world’s best. Marsch and Canada will no doubt be looking to improve their late-game defence. The result in itself shouldn’t overshadow their performances throughout the Copa America and the progress the program has made as a whole, but it should illustrate the gulf that exists between teams like Venezuela and Uruguay. It’s a gulf Canada hopes to better understand in 2026.
Joshua Sage
Kone’s upright bike?
How to describe Kone’s goal? It was a bicycle kick, a hooked volley and a lob, but none of those things.
An upright bike? That’s about it, but it still doesn’t reflect the incredible invention and athleticism that Kone displayed. In that situation, most players would probably have gone for a header, which wouldn’t have worked. Kone invented something completely new and had the hamstrings to pull it off.
CANADA EQUALS 🇨🇦
What a finish from Koné 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zmvEaw692y
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 14, 2024
That’s probably what third-place matches are all about. Sure, there’s a little extra money on the line, but no one Really The national team players care about who wins. They remind us, at their best, that playing football is an end in itself. No pressure, no worries. And Koné’s moment of levitation was the ultimate example of disposable genius – even if his penalty in the shootout left much to be desired.
GO FURTHER
Canada’s Jesse Marsch sees signs of a champion in Ismael Kone
Jack Lang
Did Uruguay have something to prove?
The Uruguayan players have been through hell in recent days. There was the team’s crushing defeat to Colombia in the semifinals and everything that happened afterward: a handful of Uruguayan players entered the stands at Bank of America Stadium and confronted the spectators.
Following the incident, tournament organisers CONMEBOL opened an investigation into the incident and some South American media outlets reported that as many as 10 Uruguayan players could face disciplinary action. Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa then used his pre-match press conference to criticise CONMEBOL for what he said were security lapses, the state of the pitches and a host of other issues.
Bielsa is getting closer to a pitch he has little time for (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Uruguay has also faced criticism on the stylistic front. Bielsa’s teams have always been very energetic and very tough, and this current team is no exception. Their quarterfinal against Brazil was the dirtiest game of the tournament, and Bielsa has faced a lot of criticism for his team’s style of play. Canada has also been accused of playing dirty, something Marsch declined to say before Saturday’s game.
Bielsa and the entire Uruguayan team undoubtedly went into tonight’s game with a lot to gain, beyond prizes and the tournament standings. And thanks to their courageous performance, with an equaliser in added time and a couple of well-taken penalties, they achieved 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 the tournament organizers, as neither team is very popular in the United States. The crowd at Bank of America Stadium seemed ridiculously small at times, with many empty seats in both stands, and an entire side of the upper stand completely empty. It is also worth noting that the European Championship does not feature a third-place play-off.
There were a lot of empty seats (Getty Images)
CONMEBOL stated that The attendance figures for this tournament are set to equal Ticket prices for the 2016 Copa America Centenario, which was also held in the United States, reached hundreds of dollars for group and playoff matches, and on the secondary market they can reach four figures. Other problems were encountered: poor marketing led to disappointing crowds at the NFL’s huge stadiums, and stifling heat caused problems at some matches.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday, a relatively pleasant evening in Charlotte.
Some see the tournament as a test run for the 2026 World Cup. It remains to be seen what lessons, if any, the tournament’s organizers will learn from it.
Pablo Maurer
Did Canada’s new lineup work?
Marsch made it clear from the moment he was hired that he had one overarching goal in mind: for Canada to be in contention on home soil for the 2026 World Cup.
Every decision is made with the World Cup in mind, and perhaps the most striking example of that approach is Marsch’s lineup for the third-place match. Canada’s new head coach made a significant rotation with four players making their first Copa America starts.
Marsch’s preferred 13 (or so) players for 2026 are well established, but his core of secondary players has yet to emerge. By keeping Alphonso Davies, David and Stephen Eustaquio on the bench against Uruguay and instead starting Tani Oluwaseyi, Mathieu Choiniere, Ali Ahmed and especially 18-year-old centre-back Luc De Fougerolles, Marsch gave the young players the opportunity to play valuable minutes in a must-win tournament game. It’s a safe bet that those minutes will pay off in 2026, and that De Fougerolles, for example, will become more accustomed to playing against tough opponents like Uruguay in two years’ time. The fact that Marsch was able to make this decision suggests that the organisation is fully on board with what he’s trying to do for 2026.
GO FURTHER
US National Team, Canada and Mexico: How the 2026 World Cup Hosts Will Perform at the Copa America
Aside from a few nervous moments from De Fougerolles, Canada’s new starters played well. Adding it all up, Marsch’s decision seems like another smart move.
Joshua Sage
What did Marsh say?
Canada’s head coach after the game: “The players are disappointed with the way we lost the game. But I was very positive with them. We’ve been together for six weeks. And to come into this game, put new players on the pitch, play for me against one of the best teams in the world and totally dominate the game, create big chances, we were too strong for them for most of the game.”
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(Top photo: Getty Images)