Uruguay made a strong start to their Copa America campaign with a 4-0 victory over 10-man Ecuador, while guests Qatar drew with Paraguay.
Sunday results
- Paraguay 2-2 Qatar (Group B)
- Uruguay 4-0 Ecuador (Group C)
Nicolas Lodeiro opened the scoring after just six minutes and things only got worse for Ecuador when Jose Quintero was shown a red card after a Video Assistant Review decision for catching Lodeiro with an elbow in the 24th minute.
Oscar Tabarez's side took advantage of their extra man, with Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez extending the lead before the break.
An own goal from Arturo Mina late in the second half capped off a torrid night for Hernan Dario Gomez and his men, who were never able to take control of the game.
Uruguay will next face Japan on Saturday, while Ecuador will meet defending champions Chile on Sunday.
Qatar come from behind to draw
In the night's earlier game, Qatar fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Paraguay in Rio de Janeiro.
Oscar Cardozo's converted a spot kick after just four minutes and later had a goal disallowed by VAR five minutes into the second half.
Derlis Gonzalez managed to double Paraguay's lead in the 56th minute, but Qatar's luck changed dramatically when star man Almoez Ali's curled effort found the back of the net 12 minutes later.
With 13 minutes to play, fortunes turned in Qatar's favour again when Rodrigo Rojas headed Boualem Khoukhi's effort into his own goal before finishing up tangled in the net.
Qatar's next opponents are Colombia on Thursday evening and Paraguay will face Argentina in the early hours of Friday morning.
Follow Sporting Life on social media - find us on Facebook here or tweet @SportingLifeFC
Related football links