The under-20 World Cup in Turkey represented the first time many of us would get to see Chelsea youngster Cristian Cuevas. With Danny Pappoe out of action through injury, Cuevas, who signed from O'Higgins in February for a reported £1.7 million, is the only Blue at the tournament, and considering that few Chelsea supporters had been able to see him in Chile we didn't really know what we were getting into.
The match against Egypt was a chance to impress. Sadly, it's fair to say that Cuevas failed to do so. Playing at left back, the 18-year-old had a so-so game before finding himself in deep trouble late on when he slid in for a fifty-fifty tackle against Saleh Gooma. His studs were showing, his leg was high, and the referee had little choice but to send him off. It's a pretty disappointing result for Cuevas, who'll probably be suspended for a few games, and I'd guess that means that we won't have another opportunity to see him until the quarterfinals -- assuming Chile even get through (they did beat Egypt 2-1).
Cuevas will be very disappointed in his mistake, but hopefully Chile stick around long enough for him to redeem himself. This sort of thing can badly affect youngsters, and it'll be interesting to see how he handles it.