Seattle Sounders forward Raúl Ruidíaz and Peru defeated Nicolás Lodeiro and Uruguay 5-4 on penalties on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Copa América at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil.
After the match ended scoreless in regulation, the Peruvians pulled off the upset against one of the pre-tournament favorites. Both Ruidíaz and Lodeiro started the matched on the bench for their respective national teams, though Ruidíaz came on as a substitute for Christian Cueva in the 85th minute.
Uruguay controlled the vast majority of the match, twice finding the back of the net only to have the goals called back after Video Review. One of the top performers for La Celeste throughout the group stage, Lodeiro did not feature in the quarterfinal against Peru.
Ruidíaz entered the match just prior to the penalty kick shootout. Seattle’s DP forward confidently fired his penalty past Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, making it 2-1 for Peru.
All five Peruvians converted their spot kicks, sending the team through to the Copa América semifinals, where they’ll face Chile at Arena do Grêmio in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
