Thriller against Canada

Suarez leads Uruguay to third place at Copa America

Luis Suarez saved Uruguay in the penalty shoot-out.(Bild: AFP/APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/GRANT HALVERSON)

The Uruguay national soccer team has secured third place at the Copa America. The team led by striker Luis Suarez beat Canada 4:3 on penalties in the small final in Charlotte/North Carolina on Saturday (local time).

The score was 2:2 after 90 minutes. Suarez saved Uruguay with a goal in the 92nd minute in the penalty shoot-out. He and his team-mates held their nerve there, while Canada's Ismaël Koné and Alphonso Davies missed.

Rodrigo Bentancur had already put Uruguay ahead in the 8th minute. Canada turned the game around through Koné (22) and Jonathan David (80). Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa had the right instinct, however, when he took the ineffective Darwin Nunez out of the game early in the break and substituted Suarez. The 37-year-old also scored the Urus' final penalty, while Koné was denied by keeper Sergio Rochet and Davies by the crossbar for former Salzburg coach Jesse Marsch's team.

Record beckons for Argentina
Colombia and defending champions Argentina will play the final in Miami on Sunday. The team led by superstar Lionel Messi could become the tournament's sole record winners with another triumph - their 16th in total. Argentina's world champion coach Lionel Scaloni is hoping for a violence-free final after the riots between spectators and players in the semi-final match between Uruguay and Colombia. "I hope the fans have a party, that everything ends well and that nothing happens again," said Scaloni.