Jul 1, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Uruguay defender Mathias Olivera (16) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second half of a Copa America match against the United States at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Uruguay assistant coach Diego Reyes said their tough 1-0 Group C win over the United States on Monday showed they can adapt to difficult situations and would stand them in good stead for tests to come at the Copa America.
Uruguay's win sealed top spot in the group and booked a quarter-final match-up with the runner-up in Group D, where Brazil and Costa Rica are vying to join Colombia in the next round.
Uruguay, who have been coached by Marcelo Bielsa since last year, won all three of the their group games, scoring eight goals.
The 15-times champions have impressed in recent months, implementing Bielsa's brand of attack-minded football and high-energy, high-pressing style to great effect.
However, they were on the back foot early on against the U.S. and had little possession in the first 25 minutes.
"We are a team who is prepared and we are designed to be protagonists," Reyes, standing in for the suspended Bielsa, told reporters after the win.
"So when we don't have the ball, that's something we don't like. For some moments at the beginning of the match, it was hard for us to come up with those moments where we could recover the ball.
"We were arriving a bit late. Once that was corrected, we were able to recover the ball and then we were able to express our game better and we could see the Uruguay we all want."
With heavyweights Brazil and in-form Colombia likely to progress from Group D, Uruguay's task gets even more difficult in the United States.
"They are two great opponents. Colombia is living a very good moment presently," Reyes added.
"Brazil, we all know they are great, so we're going to start analysing in depth as of tomorrow, once we are sure who we are going to be against, and we will try to come up with a game plan that is favourable for us.
"I believe that after some minutes (against the U.S.), the team was able to find its way. This is a good thing because the upcoming matches will look a lot like this, so I think it's a good comparison point vis-à-vis what's next.
"There's always things to correct, and that's what we are going to try to do."
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
