Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay had an incredible debut in the Under 23 Pre-Olympic: they won 3-1 and lost 4-3 due to a mischief by Paraguay

Uruguay vs Paraguay Pre-Olympic Venezuela

Not even the most pessimistic Uruguayan could have imagined at halftime an outcome as disappointing as the debut of Marcelo Bielsa’s Celeste in the Under 23 Pre-Olympic tournament, heading to Paris 2024. The thing is that the eastern team, led by Loco, went to rest after starring in a display of good football through their best player: Luciano Rodríguez.

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The Uruguayan Liverpool striker surprised the Paraguayan defense with a hat-trick in the initial stage that was of little use to the eastern team, because they were unable to maintain a two-goal lead in their favor. With displays of category and hierarchy, the Uruguayans managed to take a 2-0 lead and when Dejesus López scored the discount for the Guaraní representative, Rodríguez once again capitalized on his scoring ability to take the match 3-1 in favor of those from Río de la Plata .

When Diego Gómez scored again with a magnificent work of art that left Randall Rodríguez with no chance, doubts immediately arose among the performers of La Celeste. And the Albirroja team took advantage of other people’s fears through the dead ball. Therefore, at the moment that Marcelo Fernández sealed what seemed like a feat with the 3 to 3, Carlos Jara Saguier’s men were not satisfied and went for more.

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It was then, when the last quarter of an hour was being played, Diego Gómez surprised a defensive lack of concentration from his rival and sealed the 4 to 3 through a free kick that exhibited the mischief of the hero of the day. Since no one had asked for the distance, and the goalkeeper began to adjust the barrier, a decision typical of his inexperience, the Paraguayan looked for the furthest post and achieved the Guaraní victory.

Paraguay reached the top of Group B, adding its first victory (on the first date it tied with Argentina), while Uruguay had a presentation that left a disappointment in the coaching staff led by Bielsa. Despite having had good production during the first half, the result made it clear that there are many things to correct in a competition that has no margin for error.

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The competition system is simple: each team will play four games in the initial phase of the competition and the first two in each zone will advance to the Final Phase. After that, a new group will be created with the four qualifiers and the two with the most points (champion and runner-up) will secure their place in the Olympic Games.

The history of this competition shows that Brazil is the greatest exponent with seven titles in the Pre-Olympics against five for Argentina and one victory for Paraguay. After the 2004 edition, Conmebol changed the classification format and for the three following Olympic editions (Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016), places were awarded through the South American Under 20s. For Tokyo 2020 the format was returned usual, with the participation of Under 23 players.

The men’s football competition at the next Olympic Games will begin a couple of days before the event’s opening ceremony (July 24) and will take place during the two weeks of the event in the French capital. The final for gold will be on Saturday, August 11 and there will be seven venues where there will be Olympic football: Paris, Saint-Étienne, Nantes, Nice, Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille. It must be remembered that the squad of each team will be made up of 18 players.

In the case of the men’s event, France has its place assured as organizer of the Olympic Games. The United States and the Dominican Republic managed to qualify for Concacaf, gaining their place in the Under 20 tournament held in 2022. On the European side, Spain, Israel and Ukraine will participate, the three that achieved passage to the European Under 21 tournament in UEFA that will be played in mid-2023.

The U23 African Cup of Nations determined that the qualifiers from that continent are Morocco, Egypt and Mali, while New Zealand won the place for Oceania. What are the places still available? Beyond the South American Olympic Qualifiers, the U23 Asia Cup to be played in Qatar (from April 15 to May 3) will define the three places that the AFC has. The last place for Paris 2024 will be determined in a playoff that will be played between the one who finished in fourth place in Africa (Guinea) against the one who finishes in the same place in the Asian tournament (date to be defined).