James Rodriguez He provided his sixth assist of the tournament to help 10 players. Colombia beats Uruguay 1-0 in Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday to advance to the Copa America final against ArgentinaBefore the night turned into chaos when players clashed with fans.
Argentina wins Canada Miami beat Atlanta 2-0 in the first semifinal on Tuesday to book their place in Sunday’s final in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Colombia’s win on Wednesday means they extended their unbeaten run to 28 matches, a team record, dating back to a loss to Argentina in February 2022.
In a controversial match that featured seven yellow cards and one red, players from both teams fought on the pitch at the final whistle. Darwin Nunez and about a dozen Uruguayan teammates then entered the stands as fans fought. Video footage showed Nunez hitting a Colombian fan.
Jefferson Lerma He scored the only goal in front of a passionate, pro-Colombia crowd of 70,644 at Bank of America Stadium when he headed home James’ corner kick in the 39th minute.
James became the first South American player to record six assists in a single major tournament since Pele. Brazil In the 1970 World Cup.
Colombia’s task of maintaining their superiority became complicated when the defenders failed to score any goals. Daniel Munoz He was sent off in first-half stoppage time after receiving a second yellow card for elbowing a Uruguayan player. Manuel UgarteMunoz received his first yellow card from Mexican referee Cesar Ramos in the 31st minute for a reckless tackle on Maximiliano Araujo.
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez He failed to capitalise on several chances in the first half, and Colombia’s goalkeeper was on target. Camilo Vargas Not having to perform the first rescue for him to stop. Nicholas de la CruzAttempt in the 68th minute.
Substitute Luis Suarez, Uruguay’s top scorer with 68 goals, hit the post in the 71st minute as Uruguay struggled to find a breakthrough against 10 men.
Colombia’s Mateus Uribe, another second-half substitute, hit the post in the 88th minute, before Uribe’s shot in the fourth minute of stoppage time rebounded off goalkeeper Sergio Roche and off the crossbar.
But one goal was enough for Colombia to reach the Copa America final for the third time and the first since winning the only title on home soil in 2001.
Videos after the match showed Uruguayan players heading to the stands to exchange blows with Colombian fans, while police tried to separate the two sides.
Uruguay captain Jose Maria Gimenez said the players were trying to defend their families.
“Let me say something before they cut you off because they won’t let us speak on the microphone, they don’t want me to say anything about what’s happening, but this is a disaster,” Jimenez said on the official broadcast. “Please be careful, our families are in the stands, there are newborn babies. It was a disaster; there were no police and we had to defend our families.”
Argentina are looking to win a 16th consecutive Copa America title, and are looking to join Spain as the only nations to have won three major titles in a row.
Wednesday’s game was played in 90-degree heat on a surface that had been converted from artificial turf to natural grass in the weeks leading up to the game.
Uruguay will face Canada in the third-place match on Saturday.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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