Uruguay coach Bielsa takes responsibility for Copa America exit: Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa attributed Wednesday’s Copa America semi-final defeat to his team, claiming they possessed more talent than Colombia.
Jefferson Lerma secured the decisive goal as a 10-man Colombia clinched a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Uruguay at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This win propelled Colombia into the final scheduled for Sunday.
Uruguay, 15-times champions, had been one of the pre-tournament favourites and beat hosts United States and five-times World Cup champions Brazil en route to the last four.
“Uruguay was in a clear condition to win this match if you assess the individual talent in each squad,” Bielsa told reporters.
“I manage the team that, in my opinion, had the stronger individual talent vis-à-vis the opponent, and we weren’t able to make the difference that I thought we were going to make if you compared both formations.
“We were not able to seize our extra man advantage, and when a team wins with less individual talent, logically, the manager that is coaching the weaker team shows that he is superior than the coach that had the best players.”
“The first half, even if we didn’t dominate possession, it was very even, and we should have made the difference. With one man down in the second half for Colombia, the match was completely interrupted,” Bielsa said.
“It was constantly start and stop. We should have created more chances and caused damage to the opponent. In the last minutes, they could have scored because they had clear chances.
After the match, Uruguay players clashed with Colombia fans in the stands, and governing body CONMEBOL has opened an investigation into the incident.
Uruguay next face Canada in the third-place playoff match on Saturday.
