New England Revolution forward Diego Fagundez saw a few more minutes of playing time for the Uruguay Under-20 national team on Thursday evening, entering their clash with Peru as a late substitute as Uruguay cruised to a 3-1 win in the final stage of the 2015 South American U-20 Championship.
Fagundez entered the game in the 89th minute with the result already settled, replacing Man of the Match Gaston Pereiro. It was his fifth appearance overall in the tournament and his first in the final stage after watching Monday's 0-0 draw with Brazil from the bench.
The result allowed Uruguay – who join Brazil and Argentina at the top of the final group of six with four points from two games – to stay on course for a berth in the 2015 U-20 World Cup this summer in New Zealand. The top four teams in the final group will advance to the World Cup. Excluding Brazil, who have automatically qualified as hosts, the top team in the standings will also qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, while the next-best team will playoff against a CONCACAF side for another spot in that tournament.
Fagundez and Uruguay will now prepare to face Paraguay on Sunday, followed by Colombia and Feb. 4 and the tournament finale against rivals Argentina on Feb. 7.
