Two late goals allowed Uruguay to salvage a 2-2 draw against Bolivia in South American qualifying for the World Cup on Tuesday.
Uruguay fought back from 2-0 down at half-time to earn a point in La Paz, 3,600m above sea level.
Uruguay, forced by injuries and suspensions to make seven changes to the team that lost 2-1 in Argentina on Saturday, trailed at the break to a double from forward Marcelo Martins.
PHOTO: AP
But the hosts ran out of steam in the second period as headed goals by Carlos Bueno in the 64th minute and substitute Sebastian Abreu in the 89th gave the Charruas an unlikely point.
The draw left Uruguay fourth in the 10-team South American group with 13 points from 10 games, ahead of Chile on goal difference, while Bolivia stayed eighth with nine points.
Abreu’s goal prevented Bolivia moving within two points of Chile, who have played only nine games, and one of Uruguay and Ecuador, with the latter also having a game in hand.
Martins opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a low shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the area after collecting a poor headed clearance.
He was also helped by slack defending in the 42nd minute when he escaped his marker and scored with a free header from Ronald Garcia’s cross.
Uruguay’s fightback began when Bueno, who had a shot parried by Carlos Arias with the score still goalless, rose between two defenders to head in Bruno Silva’s cross.
Uruguay continued to look more threatening as Maximiliano Pereira shot over and they equalized when Abreu rose at the far post to head in a curling cross from the left.
The draw frustrated a Bolivian side that hasn’t beaten Uruguay since 1997.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS