Copa América: 10-Man Colombia Shock Uruguay 1-0 For Final Ticket
- Face Argentina in Sunday’s final
- Uruguayan players confront fans
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Colombia beat favourites Uruguay 1-0 in their Copa América semi-final encounter on Thursday morning despite being reduced to 10 men before half-time.
In a game that ended with ugly scenes where players entered the crowd to confront fans, Jefferson Lerma’s header booked Colombia’s title decider against the defending champions Argentina on Sunday.
Uruguay’s Darwin Núñez missed several chances in the first half and the Colombians made them pay in the 39th minute when Lerma rose above the defence to head James Rodríguez’s corner past goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.
Just before half-time, Colombia went down to 10 men when their right-back, Daniel Muñoz lost his cool and got sent off after receiving a second yellow card for elbowing Manuel Ugarte in the chest.
The Uruguayans dominated possession in the second half and Luis Suárez, on as a substitute, nearly equalised when he hit the post.
However, the Colombians bravely held on for a famous win and now have a chance to dethrone Argentina who are the defending Champions in Sunday’s final.
On Saturday, Uruguay will play Canada in the third-place playoff.
Speaking in a post-match interview, Colombian coach, Nester Lorenzo said; “Until you overcome your weaknesses you cannot grow”, adding; “And when you overcome those obstacles you can grow.”
At the end of the game, Núñez and about a dozen of his teammates went into the stands as fans brawled. This is as a viral video showed Núñez hitting a fan in Colombian team colors.
Offering an explanation on the situation after the ill-tempered match, Uruguayan and Atlético de Madrid defender, José María Giménez said members of the Uruguay players’ families were threatened by fans.
“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,” Giménez said on the official broadcast.
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 11, 2024 also quoted him as saying; “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. This is the fault of two or three people who had a few too many drinks and don’t know how to drink.”
In its reaction, CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation, said in an official statement that it is investigating the incident.
