Uruguayvs.Panama

In their final tune-up match before this tournament, La Celeste registered an emphatic 4-0 victory over Mexico, while the Panamanians lost their previous encounter, 1-0 versus Paraguay.

Match preview

Heading into the 2024 Copa America, morale is high among the Uruguayans, who have every reason to believe they can capture a record 16th title.

Marcelo Bielsa's men won their final three fixtures of 2023 and have been relatively consistent this year, suffering just one defeat in four encounters (2-1 against the Ivory Coast).

Any side coached by Bielsa can expect to do an endless amount of pressing while also playing at a very high intensity for 90 minutes.

Surprisingly, though, despite this aggressive approach, Uruguay have been relatively tidy defensively, keeping five clean sheets in their previous seven international encounters.

Not since the 2019 Copa America have the Uruguayans claimed victory in their opening group fixture at this tournament, though they won their final two group matches in 2021.

Los Charruas have not been beaten by a CONCACAF side in this competition since the previous time it took place in the United States (2016), losing 3-1 versus Mexico on that occasion.

Making only their second appearance at the Copa America, Panama will hope to build on a solid start to their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign, winning their two qualifiers so far.

Under Thomas Christiansen, who, like Bielsa, previously managed Leeds United, Los Canaleros have shown they can punch above their weight, making the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final and finishing fourth at the most recent Nations League.

However, when facing CONMEBOL opponents, their results have been mixed, with the Panamanians winning just one of their last nine matches against that region (2-1 over Bolivia last year) but also claiming a positive result in four of those instances, including a famous 1-1 draw with Brazil in 2019.

In their previous appearance at this tournament in 2016, they won their opening fixture versus Bolivia (2-1) but squandered a 1-0 advantage in their final group game against Chile, which could have put them through to the knockout stage, losing that encounter 4-2.

Panama have emerged victorious from their last six fixtures when scoring the opening goal and have not lost when doing so since an October 2021 World Cup qualifier against Canada (4-1).

In five previous meetings with Uruguay, Los Canaleros have lost every time, scoring only once against them while conceding 15 goals.

Uruguay form (all competitions):

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Panama form (all competitions):

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Team News

The least experienced Uruguayan players selected for this tournament are Nicolas Marichal and Brian Ocampo, who only have one cap each, while record goalscorer Luis Suarez has made 138 appearances, second all-time for the national team behind Edinson Cavani, who retired from international competition in 2022.

Giorgian de Arrascaeta is four appearances away from 50, Rodrigo Bentancur can reach 60 on Sunday and captain Jose Gimenez is on 84.

Darwin Nunez had a hat-trick in their victory over Mexico, giving the Liverpool striker 11 for La Celeste, with Facundo Pellistri netting his first for the national team, while Sergio Rochet has not conceded in his last four international matches between the sticks.

Panamanian captain Anibal Godoy was ruled out of this competition due to a thigh injury, while Harold Cummings turned down a call-up, saying that he was not feeling good enough.

Carlos Harvey made his first senior appearance in their friendly versus Paraguay, while Jose Fajardo and Jose Luis Rodriguez are two caps shy of 50 and Eric Davis needs 10 more appearances to reach the century mark.

With Godoy out through injury, Adalberto Carrasquilla will be a focal point of the Panamanian midfield, named the best player at the 2023 Gold Cup, while Fajardo and Cecilio Waterman are their highest goalscorers chosen for this competition with 11 and 10 goals, respectively.

Uruguay possible starting lineup:

Rochet; Nandez, Gimenez, Araujo, Olivera; Bentancur, Valverde; Pellistri, Rodriguez, de Arrascaeta; Nunez

Panama possible starting lineup:

Mejia; I. Anderson, Cordoba, Miller; Murillo, Martinez, Carrasquilla, Davis; Barcenas, Diaz; Fajardo

We say: Uruguay 3-0 Panama

Uruguay have plenty of in-form attackers and experienced players who know how to handle the pressures of this competition and that should come in handy against a good Panamanian side that have yet to prove they can compete consistently with CONMEBOL teams.

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