Mexico’s World Cup roster may have had the lowest-ever percentage of domestically-based players, but Liga MX will still boast 22 Russia-bound representatives.
Eleven Liga MX teams and one from Ascenso MX will be represented in the World Cup, where their players will suit up for seven different national teams: Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, Panama, and Japan.
With two goals in the closing stages of the game, Mexico earned a 3-1 victory over Uruguay to claim first place in Group C after the opening round of matches. In a testy game that finished 10 vs 10, El Tri was able to extend their winning streak to 10 matches and their unbeaten streak to 20.
The night started off badly for Uruguay, even before the game kicked off: the Chilean national anthem was played in place of the Uruguayan one during the pre-game ceremonies. Things did not improve for La Celeste when the match got underway, as Mexico took the lead after just three minutes.
For Mexico’s opening match of the Copa América Centenario, Juan Carlos Osorio has opted for a 4-3-3.
El Tri will look to extend their nine-game winning streak and 19-game unbeaten streak tonight when they take on Uruguay in Glendale, Arizona, in Group C play.
Mexico will get their participation in the 2016 Copa América Centenario underway on Sunday, when they take on Uruguay in Glendale, Arizona.
El Tri will be facing their toughest opponent in their opening match, but La Celeste will be missing Luis Suárez due to a hamstring injury and Mexico will look to take advantage of that. Juan Carlos Osorio’s full 23-man roster should be available for selection, with no injuries reported, and Mexico is enjoying a nine-game winning streak and 19-game unbeaten streak.
The contingent of Mexico-based players in the 2015 Copa América has dwindled significantly from the group stage, but there are still 11 Liga MX players representing four countries in the knockout rounds, and you can keep track of their involvement, results, and upcoming matches here.
Uruguay- Quarterfinals
Uruguay took on the hosts, Chile, in the first game of the quarterfinals. Tigres UANL’s Egidio Arévalo started and played the full 90 for Uruguay, but La Celeste will go no further after suffering a 1-0 loss to Chile. Two red cards for the Uruguayans helped Chile seize control of the game, and a late goal by Mauricio Isla sealed the victory.
Chile dominated, but struggled to break down Uruguay’s determined defense, even after Edinson Cavani was ejected just past the hour mark. Cavani, who had gotten a yellow for dissent in the first half, earned his second in an off-the-ball incident with Gonzalo Jara, leaving Uruguay to play with 10 for the final half-hour.
Even with that disadvantage, it seemed like the game was destined to go to penalties as Chile still couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock – until Isla struck in the 81st minute to give La Roja the goal they had been craving.
Uruguay went to pieces after that goal, with Jorge Fucile’s late tackle on Alexis Sánchez earning him his second yellow and reducing La Celeste to just nine men. The tackle also sparked a mass confrontation between the two teams, with both benches clearing. Uruguay’s coach, Óscar Tabárez, was ejected from the sidelines in the aftermath of that incident and the reigning Copa América champions limped along to their elimination.
Chile advances to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of tomorrow night’s quarterfinal between Peru and Bolivia, while Uruguay is eliminated.
Although the majority of the Liga MX players in the Copa América are with the Mexican national team, there are 15 other Mexico-based players participating in Chile. They’re representing Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and you can keep track of their involvement, results, and upcoming games here.
Uruguay and Paraguay – Group B
Uruguay and Paraguay played to a 1-1 draw that advances both teams to the quarterfinals of the Copa América, and a total of five Liga MX-based players took part. For Uruguay, Tigres UANL’s Egidio Arévalo started and played the full 90, while four of Paraguay’s seven Liga MXers got on the field. Toluca’s Paulo da Silva and Édgar Benítez both started and went the full 90 while their club teammate Richard Ortiz and Cruz Azul’s Roque Santa Cruz came on as subs in the 64th and 72nd minutes, respectively.
In a rematch of the 2011 Copa América final, Uruguay took the lead just before the half-hour mark, only for Paraguay to respond moments before halftime. José María Giménez put La Celeste in front with a powerful header to finish off a corner kick, but it didn’t take long for their neighbors to equalize.
In the 44th minute, Lucas Barrios got past Giménez to meet a cross from Édgar Benítez with a header of his own, beating the keeper to level the score at 1-1.
Uruguay had the better of the chances in the second half, but they ultimately all came to naught, with Paraguay able to weather the storm despite losing their goalscorer Barrios and Néstor Ortigoza to injuries.
América’s Miguel Ángel Samudio, Pablo Aguilar, and Osvaldo Martínez did not play for Paraguay.
Group B Table:
| Team | Games | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
| Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 |
| Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 |
| Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Jamaica | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
Next game – Uruguay: vs Chile (quarterfinals) – June 24th – 7:30 PM – BeIN Sports / BeIN Español
Next game – Paraguay: vs Group C Winner (quarterfinals) – June 27th
Although the majority of the Liga MX players in the Copa América are with the Mexican national team, there are 15 other Mexico-based players participating in Chile. They’re representing Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and you can keep track of their involvement, results, and upcoming games here.
Argentina and Uruguay – Group B
These heated rivals faced off in a match with just one Liga MX-based player. Tigres UANL and Argentina goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán was once again an unused substitute, while his club teammate Egidio Arévalo once again started for Uruguay, going the full 90 in Uruguay’s 1-0 loss.
After a tightly contested start to the game, the match shifted towards Argentina. Ángel di María and Sergio Agüero both threatened Fernando Muslera’s goal, but the keeper was able to keep them out. For Uruguay, Diego Rolan had a pair of attempts but neither got past Sergio Romero.
Argentina’s coach was ejected in the 33rd minute after arguing a call with the referee, but despite the testy nature of the game, no players were sent off.
In the second half, Sergio Agüero broke the deadlock with a headed goal, finishing off a cross from Pablo Zabaleta to put Argentina ahead 1-0. After having given up a two-goal lead against Paraguay in their opening game, the Argentinians were determined to hang on to the lead this time, and they just about managed it. Diego Rolán should have tied it up at the end, but his header was cleared off the line.
Group B Table:
| Team | Games | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
| Argentina | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| Paraguay | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Jamaica | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
Next game – Argentina: vs Jamaica – Saturday, June 20 – 5:30 PM – BeIN Sports / BeIN Español
Next game – Uruguay: vs Paraguay – Saturday, June 20 – 3:00 PM – BeIN Sports / BeIN Español
Although the majority of the Liga MX players in the Copa América are with the Mexican national team, there are 15 other Mexico-based players participating in Chile. They’re representing Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and you can keep track of their involvement, results, and upcoming games here.
Uruguay – Group B
Uruguay has just one Mexico-based player on their roster, Tigres UANL’s Egidio Arévalo, and he started and went the full 90 in Uruguay’s opening game.
Los Charrúas got their Copa América campaign off on the right foot with an unexpectedly narrow 1-0 win over Jamaica, which currently has them at the top of the group table.
Jamaica, one of two CONCACAF invitees, put up much more of a fight than the Uruguayans were perhaps expecting. The Reggae Boyz kept the Uruguayans off the board in the first half before succumbing to a goal from Cristian “Cebolla” Rodríguez in the 51st minute.
The speed of Jamaica’s wingers caused difficulty for the Uruguayans, who were not up to their usual standard and were even poor at times. The defending champions of the Copa América will need to step it up in their upcoming matches if they want to earn another title.
Group B Table:
| Team | Games | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
| Uruguay | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| Argentina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Next game: vs Argentina – Tuesday, June 16th – 7:30 PM – BeIN Sports / BeIN Español
With the elimination of Ecuador in the group stage, the contingent of Mexico-based, non-Mexican players in Brazil shrank from 10 players representing 4 countries to 3 players representing 3 countries (Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguay; José María Basanta, Argentina; DaMarcus Beasley, United States).
The first one up in the knockout rounds was Tigres UANL’s Egidio Arévalo Ríos, as his Uruguay took on fellow CONMEBOL members Colombia in the Round of Sixteen. Ríos played every minute of Uruguay’s three group-stage games, and he started and played the full 90 minutes again today. Unfortunately for Ríos, those would be the last minutes he will play in this World Cup, as Uruguay fell 2-0 to Colombia thanks to a brace from young striker James Rodríguez.
Uruguay was without Luis Suárez, of course, after FIFA handed down a four-month suspension from all soccer activities after the striker bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in the final group state match. Uruguay was unable to overcome his absence, and after Rodríguez scored the first of his two goals in the 28th minute, the game looked all-but-decided. The wonder striker from the 22-year-old couldn’t have been placed any better, and although Uruguay showed some signs of life, principally from Edinson Cavani, they were never able to mount a comeback.
Colombia advances to the quarterfinals, where they will face Brazil, while Uruguay – and Ríos – will be heading home.
Mexico’s Marco Rodríguez was the referee in charge of Italy/Uruguay, and a game that looked like it was going to be a headache for any official more than lived up to that expectation.
“Chiquimarco” is being heavily criticized for allowing Luis Suárez to stay on the field after the Uruguayan bit Giorgio Chiellini in the 79th minute. Italian coach Cesare Prandelli has also taken issue with the red card shown earlier to Claudio Marchisio, claiming that “the referee ruined [the game].”
The Suárez incident is the one that most people are talking about, and in retrospect and with dozens of television angles available, it looks very clear that Suárez did, in fact, bite Chiellini. But it was an off-the-ball incident, and not in Rodríguez’s line of sight. Chiellini threw an elbow at Suárez after the bite as well, and when Rodríguez came over, both players were on the ground acting like the injured party.
With no clear view of the incident and both players claiming the role of victim, there was little Rodríguez could do other than speak to them both. With the benefit of video replays, it’s easy for viewers to say that Suárez should have been red-carded. (Chiellini should have seen red as well for the elbow, no matter how justified it may have been in that moment.)
That incident aside – and FIFA has already opened an investigation into it with all pertinent evidence, including Rodríguez’s match report – Rodríguez had an overall solid game, much as he did in his first game of this World Cup when he took charge of Algeria vs Belgium.
He missed two or three fouls, but with the way both teams were exaggerating and inventing contact, that was only to be expected.
The yellow card to Mario Balotelli, which would have ruled him out of the round of sixteen should Italy have gotten there, was well-deserved.
His red card to Claudio Marchisio, his biggest call of the game, was spot on, no matter what Prandelli thinks. Marchisio went studs-up over the ball and high into the shin of Egidio Arévalo Ríos, and did so directly in front of the referee. Rodríguez was justified in showing red, as that type of studs-up tackle (known as a “plancha” in Spanish) falls under “serious foul play” in FIFA’s Laws of the Game. Wait for the second angle in the video below.
The would-be penalty call when Cavani was taken down in the box was a non-issue due to his assistant signalling for offside. (And even if you feel that the offside call was wrong, that can’t be blamed on Rodríguez).
Rodríguez communicated well with the rest of his team. Fourth official Mark Geiger alerted Rodríguez of inappropriate behavior from the benches, and that communication led to a member of the Italian coaching staff being dismissed from the sidelines.
Were it not for Suárez biting Chiellini, Rodríguez’s handling of this difficult match would likely be praised. Instead, the referee is being vilified along with Suárez, which is a shame. Referees are not supposed to hand out red cards for things that they didn’t see, and Rodríguez didn’t see it.
Now it’s in FIFA’s hands, and given his prior history, Suárez is likely facing a significant ban.
