Argentina legend Sergio Agüero's verdict on Uruguay and ex-Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa

Bielsa’s Uruguay flew through the group stage with a near perfect trio of performances, topping the Group C table with nine points after wins over Panama, US Men’s National Team and Bolivia. Scoring nine and conceding just once, Uruguay earned themselves a quarter-final fixture against Brazil. Argentina, meanwhile, also topped their group with three wins, beating Chile, Peru and Jesse Marsch’s Canada. La Albiceleste will take on Ecuador in their quarter-final. Marsch and Canada are set to face Venezuela, with Panama taking on Colombia. Whoever comes through the game between Uruguay and Brazil will avoid Argentina until the final, should the latter escape the quarter-finals and win their semi-final, but Agüero is more concerned about Bielsa than anyone else in the tournament. “My favourite three teams outside of Argentina, because obviously they are the main candidates, I think Uruguay has a lot to give now with Marcelo Bielsa, even though Brazil isn’t in their best version they are also to be feared, and finally Colombia because they haven’t lost a game in a long time, but the important thing will be to prove themselves in the big stages,” he told Stake.com.

“I don’t know if they are candidates to be champions, but they should go far in the tournament. I think Argentina are their own biggest threat, because we shouldn’t be over confident. But Uruguay is the only team that could beat us, because Marcelo Bielsa knows Lionel Scaloni very well. Let’s not forget that Uruguay is the only team that has beat us since becoming world champions.”

Bielsa, who formerly managed both Chile and Argentina, took over La Celeste on May 15 2023 and has lost just two of his 14 games in charge. The Elland Road legend went viral during this Copa America tournament for jokingly demonstrating how little impact he has on the minds of players, using Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur as an example. Turning to Bentancur, Bielsa asked if he remembered the Brazilian player to whom he had compared the Spurs man. When Bentancur answered in the negative, Bielsa responded: “It’s so important for the media to see influence I have on these players.”

Speaking once while Leeds boss, Bielsa lauded Aguero for his contribution to the English top flight during his Manchester City spell: “All the recognition and evaluation of his performances recognise how important he has been for Manchester City and for the Premier League."