Fate has drawn Darwin Núñez, James Rodríguez together again

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It is October 2023, and South America's elite are in the throes of the third round of World Cup qualifiers. In the searing afternoon heat of Barranquilla, Colombia, the hosts go into the closing stages of their match leading Uruguay by two goals to one.

Uruguay were beaten in their previous game, away to Ecuador, and are now on the verge of a second straight defeat. The knives are already being quietly being sharpened for new coach Marcelo Bielsa. He has forced through a generational change in the national team, and some in the Uruguayan press are unhappy that he has discarded two legends of La Celeste, Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani. The new centre-forward Darwin…