Uruguay ended its poor run with a dramatic 3-2 win over Colombia in the 11th matchday of the 2026 World Cup South American qualifiers, which concluded with an epic finish.

After seven games without a win in both the qualifiers and the Copa América, Marcelo Bielsa's side sealed the victory with a goal from Manuel Ugarte at the 100th minute, just four minutes after Colombia had equalized.

With this win, La Celeste reached 19 points in the standings, overtaking their opponent, who remained on the same points but with a worse goal difference. At the top, Argentina maintains first place with 22 points, despite losing to Paraguay, while Brazil sits in fourth with 17 points.

One of the biggest surprises from Bielsa was the inclusion of Rodrigo Aguirre in the starting lineup, considering that the América de México striker had not played a single match for Uruguay until now. Néstor Lorenzo chose to start Juan Fernando Quintero and left James Rodríguez on the bench, despite the Colombian fans calling for his inclusion when their team was behind.

When Uruguay was getting closer to scoring, it was Colombia who struck first with a brilliant free-kick from Quintero. With a rare ability to strike the ball, the Racing midfielder surprised goalkeeper Sergio Rochet with a direct free-kick from outside the wall, which became the opening goal of the night.

Richard Ríos had another opportunity for Colombia, but Rochet made a great save. Núñez also came close with a free-kick that Vargas saved with a flying dive. The first half ended with Colombia in the lead, who had previously eliminated Uruguay in the Copa América semifinals.

In the second half, Uruguay came out determined to turn the game around and did so quickly. At the 57th minute, after a cross from Marcelo Saracchi, Sánchez accidentally deflected the ball into his own net, and La Celeste equalized. This ended a four-match goal drought in the qualifiers for Uruguay.

Just three minutes later, Aguirre sealed his dream debut with a brilliant goal, completing a nice maneuver inside the box and blasting a powerful shot into the far corner to put Uruguay ahead. After that, dangerous plays were scarce, and it seemed like the match would end 2-1 in Uruguay's favor. However, an incredible finish was still to come.

In stoppage time, Colombia equalized with a goal from Carlos Gómez, leaving Uruguay's fans at the Centenario stadium in shock. But just as the game seemed to be heading for a draw, Uruguay pulled off a dramatic win with a goal from Manuel Ugarte at the 100th minute, a moment the home fans will never forget.