Edinson Cavani Suffers Again in Uruguay's Copa America Defeat to Argentina
There's a party going on in South America. Lionel Messi is here, Alexis Sanchez is here, Neymar is definitely here. But did Edinson Cavani's invitation get lost in the post?
This was supposed to be the Uruguayan's chance to shine. With Diego Forlan retired from international duty and Luis Suarez still somehow banned after nibbling on Giorgio Chiellini last summer, the Paris Saint-Germain striker has been given an opportunity to show his ability.
While he often has to play out wide at the club level, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the king of the hill in Paris, he has been given his favoured central position against both Jamaica and Argentina.
In the first game, he was weak, seldom involved and wasteful when he did get a chance. Receiving Maxi Pereira's knock-down, he rifled the ball high over Jamaica's goal.ย
Against Argentina in the 1-0 loss, he managed to repeat that trick twice more.ย Once just before the break, when he lashed a volley over the bar to end the half, and once afterwards, when he went for an even more ambitious and spectacular effort which sailed even further over the top.
These were weak efforts born of frustration. The striker was not playing well, but equally, he wasn't getting much service either.
One good piece of play in the centre of the pitch saw Cavani start an attack, but when he wanted a return pass, it went the other way to Diego Rolan.
And it was Rolan whom the ball fell to after Sergio Romero tipped away Maxi Pereira's strike from the right, with the young striker blazing it high over the barโa glaring miss.
It was a shame because, that moment aside, the young forward had an enterprising game and offered a bright presence high up the pitch for Uruguay. Meanwhile, others beside him wilted away as Argentina pushed forward.
Cavani would just have been wishing that Rolan's chance fell to him because, even playing like he was, this one would surely have gone under the bar.
Uruguay's defenders were impressive, with Diego Godin playing like a rock and Alvaro Pereira flying into several wonderful tackles against the likes of Messi.
But at the other end, they weren't able to puncture Argentina's defence, which definitely has its flaws.
Marcos Rojo was occasionally caught out of position, but Uruguay simply weren't sharp enough.
Cavani raced on towards a loose ball on the edge of the box, but Romero was out quickly and chested it past the forward before punting it into the stands.
The striker also came off second-best in a challenge with Ezequiel Garay, claiming a penalty but getting short shrift from referee Sandro Ricci.
Cavani had a good scoring record with PSG this season, netting 31 goals in all competitions. It was the fifth consecutive season in which he scored 25 or more goals.
But most would question why he can't do it on the biggest stages. He will have a third bite of the cherry against Paraguay.
