The premiere of the Argentine Marcelo Bielsa in front of the selection of Uruguay was the sweetest after defeating by a clear 4-1 to Nicaragua in a friendly disputed in the Montevideo Centennial Stadium.
With the absences of Luis Suárez, Fede Valverde, Edinson Cavani and Fernando Muslera, among others, Bielsa opted for a team with new faces. The goals charrúas were annotated by Matias Arezo (8′), who even missed a penalty (26′), Rodrigo Zalazar (36′ and 82′) and brian rodriguez (55′). In stoppage time, the Central Americans scored their goal of honor through Luis Colonel (92′).
“Our collective game was quite well organized, dynamic and fast”, highlighted Bielsa after the win. Uruguay’s next friendly will be against Cubanext Tuesday, June 20, and the former Marseille coach announced that he will continue to do tests for the start of the South American qualifying group for the World Cup 2026.
Uruguay: Frank Israel; Guillermo Varela (Bruno Méndez, 84′), Sebastián Cáceres, Matías Viña, Lucas Olaza; Emiliano Martínez, Rodrigo Zalazar (Felipe Carballo, 84′), Maximiliano Araújo (Diego Rossi, 75′); Facundo Pellistri, Brian Rodríguez and Matías Arezo (Thiago Borbas, 59′)
Selector: Marcelo Bielsa
Nicaragua: Miguel Rodriguez; Erick Tellez, Marvin Fletes, Josué Quijano, Kevin Serapio (Jason Coronel, 46′); Oscar Acevedo; Juan Barrera (Talavera, 76′), Matías Belli; Bancy Hernández (Luis Coronel, 46′), Jaime Moreno (Harold Medina, 59′); and Byron Bonilla.
Selector: Marco Figueroa
Goals: 1-0, Matías Arezo (8′); 2-0, Rodrigo Zalazar (36′); 3-0, Brian Rodriguez (55′); 4-0, Rodrigo Zalazar (82′); 4-1, Luis Coronel (92′)
Referee: Wagner Magalhaes (Brazil). He showed a yellow card to the locals Maximiliano Araújo (55′) and Thiago Borbas (85′); and the visitors Serapio (43′) and Jason Coronel (49′)
Stadium: Centennial (Montevideo)
see match sheet
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