3 things we learned as Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 in a physical match

A second half goal capped off a physical match as Argentina beat Uruguay, potentially ending Uruguay’s hopes of defending their Copa America title.

The first half was, well, strange. Uruguay had the better early run of play, but once Argentina turned things around, the defending Copa America champions turned in to a defensive bunker that was more ready to hack at Albiceleste players than look for quality attacking moves.

That physical nature kept Argentina just off-balance enough that they failed to capitalize on any of a number of quality attacking chances, and it quickly became apparent that they were very, very frustrated. That frustration came out in a big way when a screaming fit from Gerard Martino got Argentina’s manager sent off just half an hour in to the match.

That frustrated edge held up through the rest of the first half, with Uruguay taking every inch of latitude that the Brazilian referee gave them in their challenges. Argentina used that frustration as fuel, though, coming out with a vengeance in the second half. It took just ten minutes for them to find the crack in Uruguay’s defense that they needed, with Sergio Agüero coming up with an incredible header through a postage-stamp’s worth of space after a nice piece of combination play from Javier Pastore and Pablo Zabaleta set him up right in front of goal.

Argentina were all over Uruguay afterwards, with La Celeste defending desperately to keep the deficit to a single goal and doing anything they could to find chances on the counter, but Diego Rolan sent their best chance sailing high despite having the whole goal at his mercy. The physical aggression on both sides of the ball kept ratcheting up higher, with rough challenges flying all over the pitch and Argentine defender Marcos Rojo being very lucky to stay on the pitch after leveling Uruguay goalkeeper Fernandeo Muslera after play had stopped.

A desperate finish to the match saw Uruguay pull out all the stops to find an equalizer, but Argentina’s defense stood firm, and Sergio Romero came up with a huge save on a rocket strike from Uruguay substitute Abel Hernandez in the closing minutes. In the end, they preserved their lead, and the much-needed win.

The 1-0 victory for Argentina puts them even at the top of the Group B table with Pargauay on four points, while Uruguay look lost at sea with just three points after two matches. With their last group match against a surprisingly good Paraguay side, the defending Copa America champions might not even make it out of the group stage, which would be a bitter disappointment for fans and players alike.

Goals: Agüero (56’)

Goals: none

Even once they get Luis Suarez back, this Uruguay side won’t magically become a competent contender again. Edinson Cavani still goes missing too easily, the midfield is too easy to beat, and while the back line is relatively solid -- especially up-and-coming Jose Gimenez -- Fernando Muslera is a nightmare waiting to happen in goal. There’s a lot of good talent in this side, but right now it’s just not clicking together in any meaningful way. Maybe that’s a coaching problem or maybe it’s something else, but either way, this side is a long ways from actually being a quality international team.

Argentina have, pound for pound, one of the two or three most talented international sides in the world. Only Germany and maybe Brazil are clearly better -- but as often as not, Argentina just don’t play like it. Their forward line depth is the definition of elite, but they struggle to find a combination that works well, and often wind up forcing it to Lionel Messi just because, well, he’s Lionel Messi. Their midfield is incredibly talented, but they struggle to function because two of their best midfielders don’t actually play in midfield for their club sides very often, with Javier Mascherano serving as a center back for Barcelona and Javier Pastore as a wide forward as often as not for PSG.

Argentina have a lot of great pieces that look like an incredible team on paper, but on the field they fail to live up to that reputation. Several managers have tried to get them working together better, and for a time it looked like Tata Martino had the problem solved, but now the solution looks to be evading him as well. At this point, who knows what needs to be done to get Argentina playing to the level they’re truly capable of.

Suarez being suspended gave Uruguay’s next apparent striking star Diego Rolan a big chance to step up and declare that he’s not just a star of the future, he’s a star in the here and now. He’s got absolutely incredible talent, and it could well be that the future of the Uruguay national team rests on his 22-year-old shoulders.

Rolan has so far failed to live up to that promise, though. He was very poor in both of his appearances in the Copa America so far, and he missed a huge chance late in the match to score an equalizer with the net at his mercy, blasting a rebound well high of the goal. The pressure is just too much for him at this point in his career -- he still has great talent, make no mistake, but he’s not ready to be the guy at this level. Not yet, anyways.