Marcelo Bielsa conceded Uruguay “barely deserved” a penalty shootout win over Canada that secured them third place at the Copa América.
Bielsa’s side required an injury-time equaliser from Luis Suárez – most likely his last international goal for his country – to take the game to spot-kicks where Canada’s Ismael Kone and Alphonso Davies missed as Uruguay won it 4-3.
Earlier, Rodrigo Bentancur had given Uruguay the lead only for Kone and Jonathan David to put Jesse Marsch’s side in front.
LUIS SUÁREZ 💥 pic.twitter.com/fNiFO6UuWN
— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ ENG (@copaamerica_ENG) July 14, 2024
Bielsa hinted he should have freshened up his team after a jaded display.
“In today’s match, we did not have a good performance,” he said. “The draw was, at best, barely deserved. I think the rival coach’s decision to prioritise physical freshness was more successful than what I tried, playing most of the usual players despite fatigue.
“The game had ups and downs, the chances generated by both teams were similar, but the main thing is we did not play well.”
It has been a tumultuous tournament for Uruguay which reached a crescendo when their players fought with Colombia fans in a bid to protect their friends and family after the semi-final on Wednesday.
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And Bielsa conceded he felt they had underperformed.
“As a self-criticism of my management, we should have played better with more continuity, although there were few teams that played well,” he added.
“It is the end of the season and fatigue affects everything. I feel that with the players we have we could have done better.”
Bielsa lashed out at the security arrangements in Charlotte following the Colombia game in an epic press conference rant prior to the third-place play-off.
It is likely he will be sanctioned by CONMEBOL but the 68-year-old former Argentina boss said he was unconcerned.
“Nothing I said can be interpreted as being untrue,” he said. “The press conference showed me ranting and looking as though I had lost my mind.
“But I reviewed each of the things I said and they are all true. Everything is verifiable and demonstrable.”
