Playing shorthanded for more than a half, Colombia upended Uruguay, 1-0 in the Copa América semifinal round Wednesday night.
With the win, Colombia advances to its first Copa América final and its second ever since winning the championship in 2001. There, it will face a stiff task against Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champion Argentina, which cruised through its half of the field while allowing a single goal in five games.
The game was played in Charlotte, but might as well have been hosted in Bogotá. The Bank of America stands were packed with fans sporting yellow Colombia jerseys eager to cheer their team on. Colombia delivered for those fans in a testy game that tallied six yellow cards saw a red-card ejection.
Colombia entered Wednesday’s game as the highest-scoring team in the tournament (11 goals), fresh off a 5-0 quarterfinal win Panama. It struck first on a corner kick in the 38th minute. James Rodríguez sent the ball to the back post on the corner kick, where Jefferson Lerma leapt high in the air and squeezed the ball between the post and goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.
The goal was just the second allowed by Uruguay all tournament.
Colombia’s defense, meanwhile, stifled a Uruguay offense that scored nine goals in four games en route to Wednesday’s matchup. Uruguay didn’t put any of its four first-half shots on goal.
The tide threatened to shift late in the second half. Colombia’s Daniel Muñoz, who picked up a yellow card earlier in the half on a tackle, picked up his second just before the half. After a scuffle following a foul on Colombia’s Davinson Sánchez, Uruguay’s Manuel Ugarte grabbed Muñoz’s jersey from behind.
Muñoz responded with an elbow to the chest that knocked Ugarte to the turf, drawing his second yellow and ultimately a red card that led to his ejection.
Head coach Néstor Lorenzo protested to no avail. Muñoz was tossed, and Colombia was set to play the second half a man down.
Colombia’s offense was much improved after halftime as it controlled the ball and put two of its seven shots on goal. But it didn’t convert on the scoreboard as Colombia held on for victory.
Source Agencies
