Nicolas Lodeiro had the assist on Uruguay's opening goal in Friday's 3-0 win over Kazakhstan as part of the China Cup in Nanning, China.
Lodeiro set up Gaston Pereiro's 5th-minute tally to put the South Americans on the right path in the match (watch here), as the Seattle Sounders man played 61 minutes in the match. Cristhian Stuani had a brace to cap off the scoring on the day. Uruguay will play Thailand on Monday in the tournament final, seeking to repeat their title in the friendly tournament from last year.
In other action in Asia, Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Inbeom Hwang started for South Korea in their 1-0 friendly win over Bolivia in Ulsan, South Korea on Friday. Hwang exited the game after 70 minutes for the eventual match-winner, Lee Chung-yong, who scored in the 86th minute.
The most active match on Friday from an MLS perspective was Venezuela's 3-1 win over Argentina in a friendly in Madrid, Spain. Pity Martinez started and played the first half for Argentina, while Junior Moreno played the full 90 in midfield for La Vinotinto in the surprise result, only Venezuela's second win over Argentina all-time.
Pity's Atlanta United teammate Josef Martinez came off the bench in the 72nd minute and scored the insurance goal three minutes later from the penalty spot to wrap up the win.
Also in Europe, NYCFC'sMaxime Chanot started and went the distance in central defense in Luxembourg's 2-1 win over Lithuania in Euro 2020 qualifying on Friday. Luxembourg open Group B play in first place, with their next qualifier on Monday against Ukraine.
A number of MLSers faced off against each other in Friday night action. Though Mexico and Chile both featured an MLS player on their rosters in San Diego – the LA Galaxy's Jonathan Dos Santos and Sporting KC's Diego Rubio – neither featured as El Tri rode a strong second half to a 3-1 win over La Roja, who will face.
A strong MLS contingent did feature for Costa Rica, who fell to Guatemala, 1-0, in Guatemala City. FC Cincinnati duo Allan Cruz and Kendall Waston each started and went the full 90 for Los Ticos, while Columbus Crew left back Waylon Francis also started and featured for 63 minutes. NYCFC's Ronald Matarrita entered as a substitute to start the second half, while Minnesota's Francisco Calvo did not get off the bench.
Back up in the States, Peru faced Paraguay at Red Bull Arena, with Peru winning 1-0 thanks to an early goal. Portland's Andy Polo and Vancouver's Yordy Reyna each made substitute cameos for Peru, while NYCFC's Alex Callens and San Jose's Marcos Lopez were on the bench, but did not feature. On the Paraguayan side, Kaku did not get on the field in his home arena, while Atlanta's Hector Villalba did not feature either. Former ATLUTD star Miguel Almiron did start and go the full 90 for Paraguay.
