Canada’s historical run at the Copa América isn’t over.
Despite its elimination, Canada has one more match to play as it faces a tough challenger in Uruguay for third place on Saturday.
The Canadian men’s team distinguished itself by reaching the final four in its tournament debut, but couldn’t take that next step as it lost 2-0 to Argentina in Tuesday’s semifinal in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Canadians’ hopes of hoisting the Copa América were dashed with this result but not before the country earned a great deal of respect and made the rest of the world stand up and take notice.
Here’s what you need to know about the Copa América third-place match.
QUICK HITS
• The 2024 Copa América third-place match kicks off at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Saturday.
• Uruguay has won the Copa América a record 15 times (tied with Argentina) and has reached the final four of the tournament for the first time since 2011.
• Canada reached the semifinals in its Copa América debut.
• The Uruguayans were a perfect 3-0 in the group stage, and then defeated Brazil in the quarterfinals before losing to Colombia in the semifinals.
• The Canadians went 1-1-1 in the group stage before beating Venezuela in the quarterfinals. They were eliminated by Argentina in the semifinals.
• Uruguay is No. 14 in the current FIFA world rankings. Canada is 48th.
CANADA COULD MAKE LINEUP CHANGES
Save for one or two changes, Canadian coach Jesse Marsch has used essentially the same starting 11 over the course of his team’s five matches at the Copa América. But Marsch could decide to make a number of lineup alterations for Saturday’s contest against Uruguay after sticking with a core collection of players he’s relied upon to this point.
“We clearly ran out of legs [against Argentina],” Marsch said this week.
Widening the talent pool has been one of Marsch’s main goals since he took over as coach in May, and he has a well-earned reputation of giving young players opportunities during his coaching career at club level. With that in mind, Marsch hinted this week that Luc de Fougerolles might feature against Uruguay. De Fougerolles, an 18-year-old defender with English club Fulham, is a promising prospect who has yet to make his debut for the Canadian men’s team.
“He’s been one of the best performers in camp,” Marsch offered.
Another change could be at left fullback where Alphonso Davies has started all five games for Canada at the Copa América. The Bayern Munich star limped off the pitch in the 71st minute against Argentina in the semifinals after getting his right leg tangled up with defender Gonzalo Montiel. Even though a subsequent X-ray was negative, Davies could be given the night off so that Marsch can offer some valuable playing time to someone else.
The Canadian coach also might consider starting backup goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who started in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in a Copa América tune-up last month in Marsch’s first game in charge. Maxime Crépeau was between the posts against France a few days later in another friendly, and he’s held onto the No. 1 job since then. But giving a chance to St. Clair against Uruguay could keep him sharp should he be called upon in the future.
FAMILY AFFAIR FOR URUGUAY
Uruguay’s 1-0 semifinal loss to Colombia produced fireworks on and off the pitch. Mexican referee Cesar Ramos brandished seven yellow cards and one red card in a physical contest between the two nations. Players from both sides exchanged words and shoves after the final whistle blew to draw an end to the ill-tempered contest.
Soon after, several players from Uruguay jumped into the stands at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium and had altercations with Colombian fans who they claimed were harassing members of their families. The ugliness lasted for about 10 minutes before the police managed to calm things down.
CONMEBOL, South American soccer’s governing body, opened an investigation and is expected to take disciplinary action against the Uruguayan players involved, which included Darwin Núñez and Maximiliano Araújo, the team’s joint top scorers at this tournament. But any suspensions will be handed down after the third-place game, so none of the players who went into the stands will be ruled out against Canada.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see if Uruguay can put that ugly incident behind itself and refocus on playing football against a hungry Canadian side that will be eager to pull off the upset.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Alistair Johnston, Canada: The Celtic defender has played every minute (450 in total) of Canada’s run at the Copa América. Johnston’s intensity has been legendary at this tournament — from the moment he first steps onto the pitch, to when he sings the national anthem, to when he registers his first tackle. He’s coming off excellent performances in Canada’s last two outings and was recognized for his efforts by being named to the Copa América team of the week.
Darwin Núñez, Uruguay: The Liverpool striker is tied with Maximiliano Araújo as his team’s top scorer at the Copa América with two goals apiece. But he was kept off of the scoresheet in each of Uruguay’s two knockout games and hasn’t scored since his team’s 5-0 win over Bolivia. Goal-less in three consecutive matches, Núñez will be eager to get back on track and supply his team with the attacking impetus it will need to secure a third-place finish. Núñez has previously scored against Canada (see below), so it knows all about the danger he poses.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Canada came out on the wrong end of a 2-0 loss to Uruguay on Sept. 27, 2022 at Stadion Tehelné Pole in Bratislava, Slovakia in an international friendly that served as a tune-up for the World Cup later that year in Qatar.
Canada put in a decent showing against the two-time World Cup winners and 15-time South American champions, but Nicolás De La Cruz and Núñez scored first-half goals to guide Uruguay to victory.
The only other meeting between the nations saw Uruguay earn a 3-1 win at Miami’s Orange Bowl on February 2, 1986 ahead of that summer’s World Cup in Qatar.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 25 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.