EPL Players at Copa America 2024 – Day 17
Colombia and Uruguay qualified for the semi-finals after eliminating Panama and Brazil, respectively. As part of our EPLNews Copa America report, here is how Premier League players involved in the tournament performed.
Colombia 5-0 Panama
It was a very dominant display from the Colombians as they put five past Panama, with three goals coming in the first half. Goals scored by Jhon Cordoba, James Rodriguez (penalty) and Luis Diaz already put Los Cafeteros out of sight by half time.
The procession of goals continued after the interval, when Richard Rios and Miguel Borja (penalty) put the final layer of gloss on a performance that got Colombia into back-to-back Copa America semi-final appearances.
There were three EPL players involved in this one, and all for Colombia, as Daniel Munoz and Luis Diaz started the game, while Luis Sinisterra came off the bench in the 65th minute. The standout performer was the Liverpool winger, who also scored a great goal by chipping the Panama goalkeeper.
Ratings
Colombia: Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace) – 8; Luis Diaz (Liverpool) – 8.5; Luis Sinisterra (Bournemouth) – 6.5
Panama: N/A
Uruguay 1p-0 Brazil (4-2 in penalty shootout)
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Uruguay eliminated Brazil on penalties in the last quarter-final match to set up a date with Colombia in the semis. It was a somewhat chaotic match in Las Vegas, as Uruguay pushed Brazil all the way and every loose ball was tightly contested in this quarter-final.
Darwin Núñez and Raphinha were responsible for missing a couple of decent chances in the first half, while the second period brought about a more dominant Uruguay up until the 75th minute, when Nahitan Nández was sent off and left the Celeste hanging on to get to penalties.
The shootout started poorly for Brazil, as Uruguay scored with their first three kicks while Eder Militao and Douglas Luiz missed theirs. In the end it was Manuel Ugarte’s penalty that sent Uruguay through.
There were plenty of Premier League players in this game and their performances were mostly unspectacular. Arguably the pick of the bunch was goalkeeper Alisson, who saved everything Uruguay threw at him in normal time with minimum fuss.
Ratings
Uruguay: Facundo Pellistri (Manchester United) – 7; Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) – 6.5; Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham) – 5.5
Brazil: Alisson Becker (Liverpool) – 7.5; Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle) – 6.5; Lucas Paqueta (West Ham) – 6.5; Joao Gomes (Wolves) – 6; Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) – N/A; Andreas Pereira (Fulham) – N/A