Uruguay U20 1-0 Colombia U20: Quiet game settled by wonder-strike

Adrián Luna scored a quite frankly sensational free kick to give Uruguay a win in their first game of the final stage.

In an unspectacular 90 minutes they did just enough to scrape through with three points against a Colombia side that, as far as GUSU is concerned, have been the second most exciting team to watch in the tournament so far (after Brazil).

Things were made extra difficult for Colombia when they were reduced to 10 men after 47 minutes. Didier Moreno received a second yellow card for a challenge on Guzmán Pereira which seemed incredibly harsh.

For much of the game Colombia played the more attractive football without creating many good opportunities. Their weakness lay in the fact that they regularly left the door open for Uruguay to attack, something which La Celeste did regularly. They (Uruguay) created many more chances despite seeing less of the ball.

The goal came a few minutes before half time and was from at least 35 yards out. Luna got the ball over the wall and to dip just in time for it to hit the underside of the bar and cross the line. Lovely stuff.

For the 20 or so minutes after the sending off Colombia continued to play the better football with Michael Ortega, Javier Calle and Andrés Escobar typically at the centre of their good play. As the game wore on they did seem to tire slightly which is unsurprising when chasing a game with 10 men at altitude. Having said that they did come extremely close with about 15 minutes to go; Calle cracked the post with a marvellous free kick almost the exact same distance as Luna’s goal.

It was a shame for Colombia to get off to a losing start in this final stage. As mentioned before they had more possession, were more aesthetically pleasing than Uruguay but just lacked enough penetration. They were unlucky in the sense that Uruguay’s goal was unstoppable and they were harshly reduced to 10 men very early in the second half. Uruguay were quite good but will need to perform better if they are to compete for an Olympic spot. Still, they did what they had to do and defended well.

Notable performances / players to watch next time

Uruguay

Adrián Luna (Defensor Sporting): Had a good game even without his stunning free kick. Showed a marvellous bit of skill near the touchline after about half an hour and generally played very well.

Pablo Ceppelini (Cagliari): Was one of Uruguay’s best players. He created quite a few goal-scoring opportunities and went close with one or two good long-range efforts himself.

Colombia

Michael Ortega (Atlas): Like Ceppelini, came close with a couple of impressive long efforts which was the only route to goal in this game. Had one particularly audacious shot from just inside the Uruguay half which forced a somewhat desperate parry from the goalie.

Andrés Escobar (Deportivo Cali): Has been noticed throughout the competition and looks to be quite a talented player. He is frustratingly selfish however and regularly tries to go it alone when better options are available. If he can iron this out of his game he could be an exciting prospect.