When Uruguay wasn't doing well at El Centenario (not generating dangerous opportunities and starting to despair), Nicolás de la Cruz appeared to score the 1-0 against Chile, for the 2026 Qualifiers. The midfielder played very well with Darwin Núñez in the Chilean area and scored with a first-touch shot, on one side of goalkeeper Brayan Cortes, who had already made a great save against the Liverpool forward. It all happened at the 38th minute of the game, moments before the 2-0 by Federico Valverde.
The River Plate footballer, 26 years old, showed all his class and quality by shooting first-time after a great combination with his attacking partners. The key to beat the Chilean goal was the quick touch and the precise finish. Of course, the thousands of fans at El Centenario were the most excited.
In this way, De la Cruz was the one in charge of scoring the first goal in the Marcelo Bielsa era as coach of Uruguay. The second one was ‘Pajarito’, with a strong long-range shot, as he usually does at Real Madrid. These were two goals that almost knocked out the ‘Roja’, who will seek to reduce the deficit in the second half.
Uruguay vs Chile: what's next for them
After this match for the 1st round of the Qualifiers, the Uruguay National Team will play again next week when they visit Ecuador for the second matchday. This match is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12th, starting at 4:00 p.m. (Ecuadorian time, 6:00 p.m. in Uruguay), and will be played at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium. It is worth mentioning that the ‘Tri’ comes from losing 0-1 to Argentina in the first matchday.
Chile, on the other hand, will also have another match next week when they host Colombia. This match is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12th, starting at 7:30 p.m. (Colombian time, 8:30 p.m. in Chile), and will be played at the Monumental Chile stadium. The Colombian team comes to this match after defeating Venezuela 1-0 at the Roberto Melendez Metropolitan stadium.
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