Uruguay debuted in Copa America and the big surprise Inter Miami had for Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez was surprised during the Copa America match between Uruguay and Panama.

24/06/2024, 02:21 PM +00:00

Luis Suarez and the Uruguay national team started the Copa America USA 2024 strong as they defeated Panama 3-1 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Suarez did not play in the game, but he was still one of the biggest stars of last night as he was hugged and honored by the Uruguayan players whenever a goal was scored. Darwin Núñez scored in the match and went straight to hug Suarez, who was standing by the pitch to warm up. Not only was that the only kind gesture Suarez received during the match but he was also supported by Inter Miami players on the balcony of the stadium. Inter Miami players Marcelo Weigandt, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Diego Gomez, and Federico Redondo were at the stadium to support Suarez. The Hard Rock Stadium is in Miami, which is a very easy trip for the Inter Miami players to attend the match, and Suarez felt like he was home as fans chanted, "Lucho, Lucho" during the match as they wanted to see him get minutes against Panama.

Uruguay fans were very satisfied with the win but hoped to see more goals as they had many chances to score in the first half. The opener arrived in the 16th minute as Maximiliano Araujo scored an incredible goal from the edge of the box to give Uruguay the lead. Nuñez had a couple of chances to score in the first half, but he couldn't convert them, or he was offside. The second half was worrying as Panama started to get more chances and should've scored to equalize the game. Throughout the whole match, Uruguay had three big chances that were missed, and Panama had one big chance in the match that they also missed as well.

In the 85th minute, the second goal for Uruguay arrived as Nuñez smashed the ball into the near post past the Panamanian goalkeeper to make it 2-0. He went on to celebrate with Suarez off the field, and it was a nice moment. In the 91st minute, Matias Vina scored a header in the box to make it 3-0, and he also celebrated off the field with Suarez. In the last play of the match, Michael Murrillo scored an incredible goal for Panama to make it 3-1. Uruguay is currently at the top of the group, Group C, with this win, while the USA is second after their 2-0 win against Bolivia, which was also played yesterday.

Uruguay's next match in the Copa America

Uruguay is one win away from clinching their spot in the knockout stages of Copa America. Uruguay's next group match will be against Bolivia on Thursday at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. After that match, Uruguay will play against the United States next week, on July 1st, at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.