After a sensational end to proceedings, Uruguay beat Colombia 3-2 in FIFA World Cup qualifying (WCQ), continuing a 51-year and nine-game unbeaten run in home World Cup-related head-to-heads against La Tricolor.
Now on opposite sides, Liverpool pair Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez both made early defence-stretching runs but were halted by Jose Maria Gimenez and Jhon Lucumi respectively, with the former’s challenge even pulling up a chunk of turf.
The first notable opportunity fell to Jhon Duran in the 12th minute when Richard Rios flicked the ball past Nahitan Nandez and provided a pinpoint cross for the striker, who reached the ball ahead of Sergio Rochet but guided his header marginally wide.
Maximiliano Araujo glided up the pitch and cut inside Lucumi to create Uruguay’s first opening, although it was quickly closed by the onrushing goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
With the match being so closely contested, Juan Fernando Quintero broke the deadlock with a moment of imagination shortly after the half-hour mark, fooling Rochet by sending his free-kick inside the near post when a cross seemed the obvious choice.
Nunez tested Vargas with a free-kick of his own moments before the break, although La Tricolor’s goalkeeper eye-catchingly leapt across his goal line to keep it out.
Uruguay had been on top after the restart and were gifted their equalizer, when Marcelo Saracchi’s cross took a touch off of Daniel Munoz before Davinson Sanchez calamitously turned the ball into his own net.
Duran responded with a strike that fizzed agonisingly past the post but La Celeste were ahead just three minutes after equalizing, as Rodrigo Aguirre found enough space in the box to fire his shot across Vargas and into the net.
Faced by a side working tirelessly to maintain their newly-found lead, Nestor Lorenzo turned to James Rodriguez and Rafael Santos Borre in search of a route back into the game.
Colombia finally found their route back in the 96th minute with Johan Mojica heading the ball across for another substitute, Andres Gomez, to convert. Incredibly, there was time for Manuel Ugarte to instinctively finish, inspiring rapturous celebrations and earning Uruguay’s first win inside 90 minutes in nine matches while also usurping Colombia in the WCQ table.
