Colombia ended their 23-year-long wait for a major tournament final as they defeated Uruguay 1-0 in an entertaining semi-final of Copa America 2024 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States on Thursday, July 11. Colombia will meet Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the final of the continental tournament in Miami on Sunday.
The Colombian players were left in tears as they celebrated the sensational victory in front of thousands of fans, who traveled to Charlotte and filled the stands. James Rodriguez’s emotional celebration was reflective of the mood in the camp as Colombia worked their way through to their first Copa America final since 2001. Colombia will defend their 28-game unbeaten run — the longest in their football history — when they meet defending champions and pre-tournament favourites Argentina in the big final.
Colombia managed to hold on to the 1-0 lead until the final whistle despite being reduced to 10 men for 45 minutes of the semi-final. Jefferson Lerma put them ahead in the first half with a well-timed header from a corner and the Colombian backline did the rest of the job, making sure Uruguay were constantly under pressure. The match was physical as players kept pushing and shoving each other, resulting in seven yellow cards and a red.
Uruguay paid the price for being wasteful upfront. Liverpool star Darwin Nunez missed several chances in the first half and Colombia made them pay. It could have easily been game over for Colombia when they were reduced to 10 men just before half-time. Daniel Munoz lost his cool and got himself sent off, with the right back receiving a second yellow card for elbowing Manuel Ugarte in the chest when play was stopped.
However, Colombia showed incredible grit and determination to hold off Uruguay, who dominated possession in the second half. Former Barcelona star Luis Suarez, who was brought on from the bench in the 66th minute, nearly equalised for Uruguay, but the post denied him and his team a chance to come back into the game.
Earlier on Wednesday, goals from Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez helped Argentina beat Canada 2-0 and book their place in yet another final of Copa America. Uruguay will now face Canada in the third play-off match on Saturday.
Published By:
Akshay Ramesh
Published On:
Jul 11, 2024
Source link : https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/sports/football/story/copa-america-2024-colombia-vs-uruguay-semfinal-score-argentina-final-2565080-2024-07-11
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Publish date : 2024-07-11 03:00:00
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