Edinson Cavani hands Ryan Giggs first Wales defeat as Uruguay win China Cup

Wales 0 Uruguay 1: Cavani scored the only goal of the game to celebrate his 100th cap

Cavani scored the only goal of the game (Reuters)

Ryan Giggs suffered the first defeat of his tenure as Wales manager in the final of the China Cup as Edinson Cavani scored the only goal of the game for Uruguay.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored just after half-time to celebrate what was his 100^th cap for his country, while Luis Suarez twice hit the post as Uruguay had the better of the chances in Nanning.

Gareth Bale and Andy King went close for the Welsh but Uruguay saw out the win for Oscar Tabarez’s side to give them some momentum ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.


 Giggs tasted defeat for the first time with Wales 
 (Reuters)

Bale, who scored a hat-trick as Wales beat China last Thursday in Giggs’ first match in charge, said the team were disappointed to have lost the match but insisted they could still take plenty of positives from their trip to the Far East.

He told S4C: “Obviously it's not the result we wanted. We thought they were there for the taking. We had chances but their keeper made some very good saves as well.

“Ultimately we're disappointed, we felt we could have got more out of the game but it wasn't meant to be.


 Bale went close but Uruguay were comfortable 
 (Reuters)

“We'll keep learning, we'll keep trying to progress and when the major games come around in the qualifiers, we'll be ready.”

As well as Giggs' debut in the Wales hot-seat, the tour afforded several players the chance to make their international debuts and others to gain further experience at the highest level, and Bale believes that can only be good for the future.

“It's been important. There's a lot of positives to take out and a learning experience for us all,” he added. “I think it will stand us in good stead for the future and I'm sure we'll win many more games.”