Ten-man Colombia held firm as they edged past Uruguay 1-0 to book their place in the Copa America final.
Néstor Lorenzo’s men sealed their place in Sunday’s final with defending champions Argentina after a first-half header from Jefferson Lerma earned them a narrow 1-0 victory.
Colombia, who played the entire second half with 10 men, are now unbeaten in an incredible 28 matches (W22, D6).
Having breezed past Panama in the quarter-finals, Colombia made a positive start against Marcelo Bielsa’s side, as right-back Daniel Muñoz directed a good headed chance wide of the far post.
La Celeste gradually grew into the contest as the first half progressed, and it was the lively Darwin Núñez who came closest to a breakthrough, with the Liverpool striker twice missing the target when well-placed on the edge of the box.
The end-to-end nature of the match showed no signs of slowing down, and Colombia made their pressure count six minutes before the break when James Rodríguez’s inswinging corner was headed into the bottom corner by Lerma.
However, Muñoz received a second yellow card on the stroke of halftime, after thrusting a petulant elbow into the chest of Manuel Ugarte.
Uruguay continued to push for an equaliser in the second half, and Giorgian de Arrascaeta could only blaze their best opportunity over the bar late on as the resolute Colombian rearguard held firm under pressure to book their spot in Sunday’s showpiece against Argentina.
It’s Colombia’s first Copa América final since lifting the trophy in 2001. As for Uruguay, they’ll be keen to end their tournament on a positive note when they face Canada in the third-place play-off.
Mainwhile, Uruguay players, including Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez, went into the stands of the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte after violence reportedly broke out into the players’ family section at the end of the game.
Footage showed Nunez climbing up railings before confronting Colombia fans as others tried to restrain him. Uruguay players said they entered the stands to “rescue” their families.
