Manuel Ugarte scored a 101st minute winner against Colombia in their South American World Cup qualifier.
The Manchester United midfielder grabbed the winner from close range 11 minutes in stoppage time to settle an entertaining contest.
Juan Fernando Quintero gave Colombia the lead from a free kick that beat Sergio Rochet at his near post.
An own goal from Davinson Sanchez in the 57th minute levelled the scoreline just three minutes after the break. This set the game up for a lively ending and Rodrigo Aguirre edged the home side ahead with a smooth finish to make it 2-1.
It looked like Uruguay had it sewn up at this point until Colombia equalised six minutes into stoppage time through substitute winger Andres Gomez.
Colombia thought they had done enough at this point to secure a draw, but Ugarte had something to say about that.
The 23-year-old found the net for the first time in international football to secure the three points for his country.
🚨🇺🇾 Manuel Ugarte gives Uruguay the lead in the 101st minute, just after Colombia had scored the equalizer! 😳pic.twitter.com/ASWCzJU2Yd
— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) November 16, 2024
Footage courtesy of TyC Sports
Manuel Ugarte will be key player under Ruben Amorim
After a rocky start to life at United, Ugarte was starting to find his feet in his new surroundings before the international break.
He jetted off to join his Uruguay team-mates after a string of impressive performances in midfield under Ruud van Nistelrooy.
However, unlike a lot of his team-mates at Old Trafford, Ugarte has previously played under Amorim at Sporting CP. He will know exactly what to expect from the new head coach.
Amorim has already spoke glowingly of Ugarte since taking charge of United, but he has warned the midfielder that he still needs to fight for his place like any other player.
“First of all, all the Uruguayans I’ve managed are incredible and that’s why I love all Uruguayans,” Amorim told TNT Sports.
“Ugarte is a very talented kid, he has a lot of room to grow, and he was one of the funniest players I’ve ever coached.”
He added: “I was very happy to know I would find him back at Manchester United, but he knows better than anyone that for me all players are equal, so I was very happy, but he is still going to have to work hard.”