Uruguay crush 10-man Ecuador 4-0 in Group C opener
Soccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Ecuador's Arturo Mina in action with Uruguay's Luis Suarez REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (Reuters) - Uruguay crushed Ecuador 4-0 in their Copa America opener on Sunday with help from an early sending off that deflated their opponents and assured the 15-times champions the simplest of starts to their campaign.
Uruguay were already leading 1-0 from a sixth minute Nicolas Lodeiro goal when Jose Quintero was shown a VAR-assisted red card for throwing an arm in an aerial challenge.
The 23rd minute sending off put Uruguay firmly in the driving seat and Edinson Cavani with an acrobatic volley and Luis Suarez with a poacher’s goal made it 3-0 by half-time.
Soccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Uruguay's Luis Suarez shoots at goal REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
The Uruguayans took their foot off the pedal in an uneventful second half but an own goal from Arturo Mina 12 minutes from time, confirmed by VAR, sealed a miserable night for Ecuador.
"We had our chances in the first half and we took them. That allowed us to manage the game," Cavani said. "They went down to 10 men and that allowed us to control the match."
The result, Uruguay’s biggest win in the Copa America since 1967, puts them top of Group C, with Japan to play Chile in the second group game tomorrow.
Soccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Uruguay's Luis Suarez in action with Ecuador's Alexander Dominguez REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
Ecuador, one of only two South American sides never to win the tournament, looked poor throughout the game at the Mineirao stadium and will have to recover quickly before facing Chile, the current Copa America champions in Salvador on Friday.
Uruguay’s next match is against Japan in Porto Alegre on Thursday.
Soccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Ecuador's Enner Valencia in action with Uruguay's Diego Laxalt REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Ian Ransom)
Soccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Uruguay's Luis Suarez in action with Ecuador's Alexander Dominguez REUTERS/Edgard GarridoSoccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Uruguay's Luis Suarez in action with Ecuador's Pedro Velasco and Arturo Mina REUTERS/Luisa GonzalezSoccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Uruguay's Martin Caceres in action REUTERS/Luisa GonzalezSoccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Ecuador's Antonio Valencia in action with Uruguay's Diego Laxalt REUTERS/Edgard GarridoSoccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Uruguay's Luis Suarez in action with Ecuador's Alexander Dominguez REUTERS/Washington AlvesSoccer Football - Copa America Brazil 2019 - Group C - Uruguay v Ecuador - Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - June 16, 2019 Ecuador's Pedro Velasco in action with Uruguay's Luis Suarez REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
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