27-Year-Old Footballer Dies After Collapsing During Match

Juan Izquierdo, a Uruguayan soccer player, who collapsed on the field during a game in Brazil last week, died on Tuesday, his team said.

Izquierdo, 27, was playing for Nacional, a Uruguayan club, in the Copa Libertadores, a top South American tournament, when he suffered cardiac arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, and cardiac arrest on Aug. 22, his team said.

They were playing against the Brazilian team São Paulo.

Players from both teams appeared shocked and distressed at the Morumbi stadium as Izquierdo was placed in an ambulance and rushed to a hospital.

Nacional said doctors at a hospital in São Paulo put Izquierdo in intensive care and placed him on a ventilator.

The episode also affected his brain.

Izquierdo started his professional career in 2018. This was his second stint for Nacional, one of Uruguay’s top soccer clubs.

He was married with two children, according to the Montevideo-based team