Rodriguez header seals win for Argentina against Uruguay

A first half goal from Guido Rodriguez, his first in 11 international appearances, gave Argentina a 1-0 win over Uruguay in their Copa America clash on Friday.

The Real Betis midfielder headed home a Lionel Messi cross after 10 minutes to give Argentina all three points and condemn their neighbors to a losing start to their Copa campaign.

The result in a game that was both end-to-end but lacking in real excitement leaves Uruguay joint bottom of Group A with no points, alongside Bolivia, who have played two and lost two.

Argentina's Lionel Messi in action with Uruguay's Diego Godin

"We deserved to win. Today we tried to be more compact, to make it more difficult to score against. Up front we have monstrous players who can get goals at any moment of the match," said Argentinian midfielder Rodrigo de Paul.

"Come on!!! It was important to win today. This will give us peace of mind for what is coming will continue to be hard," tweeted an elated Messi after their win. 

Leo Messi: Vamos! It was important to win today. This win gives us peace of mind for what's to come pic.twitter.com/PxDIx56y0l; Leo Messi (@WeAreMessi) June 19, 2021

The result in a game that was end-to-end but lacking in real excitement at a cavernously empty stadium in Brasilia leaves Uruguay joint bottom of Group A with no points, alongside Bolivia, who have played two and lost two.

Argentina move into joint top spot with four points alongside Chile, who beat Bolivia 1-0 earlier on Friday. Paraguay have three points from one game.

Striker Edinson Cavani was back for Uruguay after missing the last two games through suspension and he produced one of the few memorable moments for his side when he was unfortunate to see a loud shout for a penalty waved away after 26 minutes.

It was indicative of Uruguay's unhappy night that although they had slightly more of the possession they never managed a shot on goal the entire match.

At the other end, Messi caused problems for Uruguay with his dribbles in the last third but he was frequently crowded out by Uruguayan defenders.

The result extended Argentina's unbeaten run to 15 games since they lost in the semi-final of the last Copa America in 2019.

It also snapped a run of three consecutive draws and boosted the confidence of a side aware their great rival Brazil are scoring freely and are hot favorites to win a second consecutive Copa America playing at home.

"We've lacked a bit of luck to get victories (recently)," said Argentina's second half substitute Angel Di Maria. "Today we managed to do that against a direct rival who are always contenders for the Copa America."

"Brazil are the best team (so far)," he added. "We're taking it step by step and the dream is alive, I hope we can make it come true. Argentina are always a candidate (for the title) but Brazil are at home and are doing things very well."

Argentina's next game is against Paraguay on Monday, while Uruguay take on Chile the same day.