In the international friendly between La Celeste and Mexico at Empower Field at Mile High stadium in Denver, United States, Darwin Núñez stood out for Uruguay with three goals.

“La Pantera” caused havoc for the Mexican team since he was always involved in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad’s attack, taking advantage of his quickness and ability to locate openings in the opposition’s defence. The Liverpool forward was a continuous threat from the start of the game, as seen by a few long balls to Araújo and Brian Rodríguez that saw him sprinting into the vacant space.

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He opened the score in the seventh minute, making it 1-0, when he connected with a low cross from Nández. Rangel made a half-save before he finished with accuracy to put the ball in the net. About 25 minutes in, he headed a cross from Nández wide to the far post. Then, at 44 minutes, he came back with a bang, organising a fast defense-to-attack sequence in which he sent Maximiliano Araújo down the left before popping up in the middle to finish 3-0 after connecting with a low cross from the Toluca winger.

Once again, Núñez caused havoc for the opposition at the beginning of the second half. In the 46th minute, he outran Víctor Guzmán, finished across the goal, and, following Rangel’s deflection, cleared the danger with a vital save. After an excellent assist by Pellistri, the Celeste striker was in the six-yard box a few minutes later to tap in the ball, making it 4-0 and earning his first hat-trick for his country.

Darwin was in charge of starting every defensive play, pressing the opposition’s build-up on the wings and when Mexico played out of the back with their custodian, in addition to his contributions with and without the ball in attack.

Núñez, who has eight goals and an assist in his previous five national team games, is Uruguay’s major attacking threat heading into the Copa América under Bielsa. He performed a wonderful game against Mexico and demonstrated his growing completeness as a forward.