New England Revolution winger Diego Fagundez and Uruguay moved a step closer to achieving their World Cup and Olympic dreams.
The Uruguay Under-20 national team dispatched of Paraguay 2-0 on Sunday night in Montevideo in their third match of the five-game South American U-20 qualifying hexagonal. With the victory, the tournament hosts Uruguay now sit atop the final group, tied with Argentina on seven points.
The top four teams advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand in May and the best team not named Brazil earns an automatic berth to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil qualify as hosts). The second best team advances to an Olympic playoff.
Fagundez, who made a late cameo in Thursday's match against Peru, didn't feature on Sunday night, and it was two of Uruguay's top three scorers who came though with goals in a comprehensive performance. First in the 22nd minute Franco Acosta flicked a header near the top of the box that somehow beat the Paraguay goalkeeper, who was off his line.
Then one minute after striking the crossbar, Gaston Pereiro headed home a cross at the near post in the 38th minute.
Paraguay made a push to start the second half, but a 65th-minute red card to Paraguay's Angel Benitez meant the rest of the second half was a formality.
In seven matches during this tournament, Fagundez has two starts for Uruguay (64 and 74 minutes played in each start, both in the opening stage) and two sub appearances for another eight minutes of action.
