Suarez scores brace in Uruguay's 4-1 win over Mexico

Houston (US) : FC Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored a brace in Uruguay's 4-1 friendly win over Mexico at the NRG Stadium here.

While Suarez was the obvious standout for the South American squad, goalkeeper Fernando Muslera made equally important contributions in holding El Tri to just one goal, reports Efe news.

Uruguay opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Jose Gimenez emphatically headed home a corner kick from the right side by Jonathan Urretaviscaya.

The more than 50,000 spectators in attendance on Friday night then seemed to be in for a treat when Mexico scored the equalizer just four minutes later on a penalty conversion by forward Raul Jimenez.

But Suarez began taking over the game at the half-hour mark, first scoring on a remarkable free kick in the 31st minute and then completing his brace at the 40-minute mark with a risky Panenka-style penalty conversion.

The FC Barcelona superstar had won the penalty when he was taken down in the area by Mexican defender Jesus Angulo.

Uruguay added one more insurance goal in the 58th minute when midfielder Gaston Pereiro headed home a "rabona" pass from Suarez.

Mexico had several other chances to score but Muslera deflected away shots by Jimenez, Hirving "Chucky" Lozano and Victor Guzman.

The friendly was the first match for both teams since the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Mexico was eliminated in the Round of 16 and Uruguay lost in the quarter-finals.

Mexico will next take on the United States in a friendly on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, while Uruguay will travel to Japan for a game against the Samurai Blue in Saitama on October 16.