Uruguay 0 - 2 Panama (392788918)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 12000 at La guarida de los lobos today. Ulrich Brunnenmaier was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jean-Pierre Gattlen and Claus Kleine. The match took place on neutral ground. Uruguay had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. Starters: González - Shek, Du Pré, Shaw, Pomatta Texeira, Roquette - Valverde, Invernizzi, Reboledo, McFly - Gardel.

A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Panama. Lineup: Moreno - Cuenca, Granado, Moreno, Bedoya, Carvajal - Alvarado, Carbajal, Vivas - Castro, Munguía.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Panama. Uruguay created a good opportunity to score 13 minutes into the match when R. Du Pré's hooked ball from the left created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors' defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. Panama's C. Carbajal was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 17 minutes. Coming in from the right, Panama had a good opportunity to convert on a counterattack after 27 minutes, but P. Alvarado's attempt to finish was easily stopped. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 0. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Uruguay, with 80 percent of the ball.

O. Pomatta Texeira would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. A. Kliche entered the game for Uruguay as the match clock showed 50 minutes. As the 50 minute mark approached, the Uruguay coach decided it was time for a substitution. D. Valverde reluctantly made way for R. Estramín on the pitch. 50 minutes into the game, Uruguay wanted to bring some new energy to their game. E. Reboledo gave E. Bentancour a quick hug as he left the field. The counterattacks of Panama were deadly and 53 minutes into the game, E. Castro received a nice pass from the right flank, making it 0 - 1. Uruguay's R. Roquette put his head to a high ball coming in from the right after 62 minutes, but the ball went wide. Panama caught their opponents out with a clever counterattack down the right wing 66 minutes into the match. C. Carbajal was able to finish off the move - 0 - 2. The coach of Panama was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 70 minutes, R. Sojo came on for C. Carbajal. The referee showed Uruguay's R. Roquette the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The crowd groaned when A. Kliche, having maneuvered his way down the right, fired the ball just wide and missed a great opportunity to reduce the deficit for Uruguay. Possession in this half belonged to Uruguay, who controlled the ball 79 percent of the time.

The most dominating Uruguay player was without a doubt A. Gardel. C. González turned in a dismal performance, however. E. Castro performed admirably for Panama. A. Carvajal was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 2.