Group C action at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami will feature 15-time champion Uruguay vs Panama in the last Copa America Sunday match.

The Panamanians lost their last clash, 1-0 against Paraguay, while La Celeste easily defeated Mexico 4-0 in their last warm-up game before this competition.

Uruguay x Panama Team News

While record goalscorer Luis Suarez has made 138 appearances for the national team, second all-time behind Edinson Cavani, who retired from international competition in 2022, Nicolas Marichal and Brian Ocampo are the least experienced Uruguayan players chosen for this tournament, having only one cap each.

Rodrigo Bentancur may reach 60 on Sunday; Giorgian de Arrascaeta is four outings away from 50; and skipper Jose Gimenez is on 84.

In their triumph over Mexico, Darwin Nunez scored a hat-trick, giving the Liverpool striker 11 goals for La Celeste. Facundo Pellistri scored his first goal for the national team, while Sergio Rochet has kept up a goal in his past four international games.

Harold Cummings declined a call-up, claiming he was not feeling well enough, while Panamanian captain Anibal Godoy was ruled out of this tournament because of a thigh injury.

While Jose Fajardo and Jose Luis Rodriguez have two caps short of 50, and Eric Davis needs ten more appearances to reach the century mark, Carlos Harvey earned his first senior debut in their friendly against Paraguay.

Adalberto Carrasquilla, who was selected the best player at the 2023 Gold Cup, will be a focal point of the Panamanian midfield, while Fajardo and Cecilio Waterman are their greatest goal scorers with 11 and 10 goals, respectively, with Godoy out injured.

Head To Head And Previous Matches

Uruguayans are in great spirits going into the Copa America of 2024 and have every reason to think they can win a record 16th championship.

Marcelo Bielsa's side has been comparatively solid this year, losing only once in four games (2-1 against the Ivory Coast), and they won their last three games of 2023.

Any team under Bielsa's coaching can anticipate playing at a very high level for ninety minutes, including infinite pressure.

Interestingly, however, Uruguay has been very disciplined defensively despite this aggressive style, with five clean sheets in their last seven international games.

The Uruguayans have yet to win their initial group game at this competition since the 2019 Copa America, but they did win their last two group games in 2021.

Los Charruas lost 3-1 to Mexico in the last time this tournament was held in the United States (2016), the last time a CONCACAF team defeated them.

Making only their second Copa America participation, Panama will be looking to capitalize on a solid start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign—they have won their first two.

Los Canaleros have shown they can fight above their weight under Thomas Christiansen, who, like Bielsa, led Leeds United in the past. They qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final and were fourth in the most recent Nations League.

The Panamanians have had mixed fortunes when playing CONMEBOL opponents, however, having only won one of their previous nine games (2-1 against Bolivia last year) but also earning a victory in four of those games, including a historic 1-1 tie with Brazil in 2019.

Their first game in this competition was against Bolivia (2-1), but they lost their last group game to Chile (4-2) after blowing a 1-0 lead that would have advanced them to the knockout round.

Except for a World Cup qualifier against Canada in October 2021, Panama has won their past six games when they have scored the first goal.

Los Canaleros have only ever scored once and let up fifteen goals in five prior encounters with Uruguay.

Our Predictions

Handicap (0:1), Uruguay to win @1.86 on Sky247.ng

Uruguay last won the Copa America in 2011. The bookmakers consider them third favourites to add to their 15 championships this summer.

A solid recent run of form, which has seen them win four times in seven games—including 2-0 wins against Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifying—partially explains it.

Marcelo Bielsa's team has an outstanding defensive record, keeping clean sheets in five of those games and seven of their previous ten games in this competition.

Against a solid Panamanian squad that has yet to show they can regularly compete with CONMEBOL clubs, Uruguay has a wealth of in-form strikers and seasoned players who understand how to manage the challenges of this tournament.

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