Uruguay wins China Cup with a goal from Cavani

A solitary goal from Edinson Cavani, who was playing his 100th match wearing the sky blue shirt, was enough for Uruguay to defeat Wales (1-0) and be crowned champion of the second edition of the China Cup, the quadrangular tournament of nations hosted by the Asian giant since 2017.

The final was a match where Óscar Washington Tabárez's team once again showed that Uruguay does not play friendly matches: a game of great quality and tension, where Barcelona's Luis Suárez generated a lot of danger, hitting the post twice and having a goal disallowed for offside.

The Welsh star, Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, was quite neutralized by the marking of Diego Laxalt; and in the Uruguayan game, Boca Juniors' midfielder Nahitan Nández shone on his own, distributing play and unsettling the defense of the "red dragons".

The Uruguayans started with a similar approach to the victory in the semifinals last Friday against the Czech Republic, with the only novelty being Cristian "Cebolla" Rodríguez replacing Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

The Welsh, in the second game of Ryan Giggs as coach, relied on the same eleven that defeated China 6-0 in their debut.

Uruguay already showed its intentions in the first minute, with a shot from Suárez that hit the post, and shortly after Cavani also came close to scoring.

The British tried to recover and also managed, although with less danger, to reach Fernando Muslera's goal in the early stages, with Sam Vokes being the first to attempt to beat him in the fourth minute.

The pace of the game was very high from the start, and this took its toll on Atlético Madrid defender José María Gimenez, who had to leave the field in the sixth minute due to a possible injury in his left ankle, which could complicate things for the red and whites in the league.

After the scare, Uruguay continued their dominance of the game, which resulted in great chances like the one enjoyed by Cebolla Rodríguez after the first quarter of an hour, with a strong shot from the edge of the penalty area that narrowly missed the right post.

Gales increasingly struggled to get out of their area and link attacking passes, cornered by the high pressure of the sky blues, which caused a defensive error by the British in which Suárez hit the post for the second time after half an hour.

The last clear chance of the first half, however, was for the Welsh, with a long free kick that Harry Wilson put the ball at Gareth Bale's feet, almost on the goal line, although a providential Muslera cleared the ball just in time.

In the second half, Uruguay continued the siege until finally achieving a goal thanks to an attack led by Godín, which culminated in a lethal assist from Cebolla Rodríguez to Cavani, who scored unopposed in the 49th minute.

The "Matador" scored his 42nd goal with the national team, which he celebrated in his 100th match.

In the following minutes, the Paris Saint-Germain forward had a second goal at his feet, with a very similar play to the one of the goal that he could not finish this time.

Shortly after, Suárez made the ball go into the net, although the Qatari referee disallowed the goal for a very close offside, of a few centimeters.

In the last half hour of the match, Uruguay's substitutions to provide air to their starters caused the Welsh to gain ground and enjoy more possession, although they hardly posed any danger to Muslera's goal, who only had to worry about some long-range shots with poor aim.

Suárez had the last chance, finding himself alone in front of Wayne Hennessey's area, although from behind Welshman Ryan Hedges stole the ball from him in the final breath of a match where the Barcelona player was unlucky.

With this victory, Uruguay succeeds Chile as the champion of the China Cup, which in its two editions has shown the potential of South American football.

Uruguay, which had only played one match against Wales in 1986 (which ended in a 0-0 draw in Welsh soil), will only play one more friendly before the World Cup in Russia, against Uzbekistan on June 7th in Montevideo.

Technical Sheet

Gales: Hennessey; Davies (Hedges, m.90), Williams, Chester (Lockyer, m.75); John (Roberts, m.59), Allen, King, Gunter (Matthews, m.79); Wilson (Evans, m.72), Vokes (Bodin, m.67), Bale.

Uruguay: Muslera; Laxalt, Giménez (Coates, m.8), Godín, Varela; Rodríguez (Torreira, m.70), Vecino, Bentancur (Silva, m.78), Nández (Stuani, m.85); Cavani (Gómez, m.93), Suárez.

Goal: 0-1. Min.49: Cavani.

Referee: Juma Burshaid (Qatar). Showed a yellow card to Davies (m.28).

Incidents: Final of the China Cup, FIFA quadrangular tournament in its second edition. Played at the Guangxi Sports Center in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, with a capacity for 60,000 spectators and practically sold out.