'Incredible potential' - Marsch hails Canada following Uruguay loss to conclude impressive Copa America debut

Uruguay beat Canada on penalties in the third-place play-off of the Copa America in what was Canada's first appearance at the tournament. Marcelo Bielsa's side equalised in injury time before Ismael Kone and Alphonso Davies missed their penalties for Canada to narrowly miss out on the bronze medal. Jesse Marsch hailed his Canada side's potential as they build to the 2026 World Cup.

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Uruguay beat Canada on penalties to take third place in the Copa America on Saturday after a 2-2 draw at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Goalkeeper Sergio Rochet saved Ismael Kone’s shot and Alphonso Davies hit the crossbar as Uruguay won the shootout 4-3.

Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Bentancur, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Luis Suarez all converted their attempts past Canada goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

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Jonathan David, Moise Bombito and Mathieu Choiniere scored their spot kicks for Canada.

Suarez had scored a last-gasp goal in the 92nd minute to equalise for Uruguay and send the game straight to penalties with the tournament having scrapped extra time.

The Uruguayan’s goal came after Canada had gone ahead in the 80th minute thanks to Jonathan David, who pounced on a long-range shot from Kone that Rochet parried.

Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring early in the first half, smashing home from a corner only for Kone to level the score with a sweetly-struck bicycle kick 14 minutes later.

In making the semi-finals, it has been one of Canada’s best tournament performances for some time and the side looks rejuvenated under American Jesse Marsch, who was hired in May.

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Canada boss Jesse Marsch praised the performance of his side against Uruguay.

"It's not easy to build a tactical model in such a short time and under such big stresses against good opponents and then perform and execute at such a high level," Marsch said.

"So, again, what a positive sign. What a great group of guys. What incredible potential we have with this team."

Meanwhile, Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa thought his side's performance should have been better, but was grateful for a victory after the disheartening semi-final loss to Colombia.

"I thought that given our roster, we could have played a bit better than what we showed," he said.

"I think that it is difficult when you arrive at the third versus fourth match to be motivated, but the motivation and pride within ourselves that we had today, it is about competing for the shirt of this country, one for which we have all suffered," the Argentine added.

"After the loss the other day, there's no better way to finish than with a victory. It's good to take the positive things and correct the negatives."

Defending champions Argentina will take on Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Sunday to decide the title. A win for the Argentine will see them pass Uruguay as the most successful Copa America side - both are tied for 15 titles.

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