Uruguay

Last night, a meeting between Uruguay — eighth-ranked in the world and perhaps the biggest threat to Brazil’s Copa América quest on home soil — and Ecuador was dominated by La Celeste. First half goals from Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani and Nicolás Lodeiro effectively decided the match, especially so since Ecuador was reduced to 10-men in the 24th minute following a José Quinteros red card.

The opening goal from Lodeiro in the sixth minute was excellent, featuring a pinpoint cross from Suárez and a three-touch masterpiece from the Seattle Sounders attacker.  

Uruguay thumped Thailand 4-0 Monday to capture the 2019 China Cup, but the real story of the match was captain Diego Godín collecting his 126th cap for la Celeste, making him the record holder in that department for the two-time world champions.

Last week, the South American U-20 Championship kicked off in Chile, with the top four finishers earning qualification to this summer’s U-20 World Cup in Poland.

Tuesday's blockbuster friendly between France and Uruguay (a World Cup quarterfinal rematch) at the Stade de France was supposed to be a chummy occasion, as evidenced by Antoine Griezmann’s half-and-half boots. However, the match was marred by a gruesome-looking, albeit totally accidental, shoulder injury to Kylian Mbappe.

The 19-year-old phenomenon came off following the injury and then attempted to resume playing, but he ultimately succumbed to a substitution in the 36th minute. 

Liga MX World Cup players had a good tournament in Russia. With the World Cup coming to an end, many of us are heartbroken and will face the existential void once the final whistle blows in the France vs Croatia game. However, the good news is local tournaments will resume soon all around the world and things will go back to normal.

The World Cup quarterfinals are here. What's likely to be a Cavani-less Uruguay, the Charrúa will have to stifle a potent France attack. Meanwhile, Belgium will look to get off to a better start versus Brazil than what they did against Japan.