Julius OkorieJames Rodríguez served up his sixth assist of the tournament to help 10-man Colombia beat Uruguay 1-0 in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday to set up a Copa América final against Argentina.
Argentina beat Canada 2-0 in the first semifinal on Tuesday to book their place in Sunday’s final in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelVictory for Colombia on Wednesday meant they extended their unbeaten run to a team-record 28 games, dating back to a loss to Argentina in February 2022.
The Colombia/Uruaguay match did not however end in one peace as fans brawled freely. A video showed Núñez hitting a fan in Colombian team colours.
The match itself was contentious forcing seven yellow cards and a red from the hands of the referee.
Jefferson Lerma scored the only goal in front of a fervent and overwhelmingly pro-Colombia crowd of 70,644 at Bank of America Stadium when he headed in a deep corner from James in the 39th minute.
James becomes the first South American player with six assists at a single major tournament since Pelé for Brazil at the 1970 World Cup.
Colombia’s task of maintaining their advantage was complicated when defender Daniel Muñoz was sent off in first-half stoppage time after receiving a second yellow card for swinging an elbow at Uruguay’s Manuel Ugarte. Muñoz received his first yellow card from Mexican referee César Ramos in the 31st minute for a reckless slide tackle on Maximiliano Araújo.
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Substitute Luis Suárez, Uruguay’s career leader with 68 goals, hit the outside of a post with a shot in the 71st as Uruguay struggled to find a breakthrough against the 10 men.
After the game, videos showed Uruguay players wading into the stands to exchange blows with Colombia fans as police personnel tried to keep the two sides apart.
Uruguay captain Jose Maria Gimenez said the players were trying to defend their families.
When Fracas Overshadows Victory
“Let me say something before they cut you off because they won’t let us speak into the microphone, they don’t want me to say anything about what’s going on but this is a disaster,” Gimenez said on the official broadcast. “Please be careful, our families are in the stands, there are little newborn babies. It was a disaster; there was no police and we had to defend our families.
Argentina are seeking a record 16th Copa América title and looking to join Spain as the only countries to win three straight major titles. Uruguay will face Canada in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
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