The coffee team beat Celeste by the minimum score, taking advantage of the set piece and holding on for more than a moment with 10 players due to the clumsy expulsion of Daniel Muñoz. This Sunday, Néstor Lorenzo’s team will face Argentina.
The 2024 Copa America has its finalists. This Sunday in Miami, Argentina and Colombia They will compete to determine the champion of the longest-standing national team tournament. The Transandinos are aiming for the double championship. The coffee growers, for having obtained the second star. This Wednesday, the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte was the scene of one of the best matches delivered by the competition. The closest thing to the Euro that you can see in the Cup. A 1-0 victory gave him the ticket to Nestor Lorenzo’s team .
Was this the real end? In addition to the good results obtained, the two teams that presented the most colorful and attractive match of the tournament faced each other in the semi-finals. Unlike the key between Argentina and Canada in which the imbalance was evident and the favouritism obvious, the panorama here presented uncertainty because one or the other of the two could make the difference. While the Colombian national team advanced to the top four after beating Panama, Uruguay required twice as much to beat Brazil on penalties, a match that left Marcelo Bielsa unfavorable due to a series of losses (especially in defense).
In this sense, the Argentine coach of La Celeste chose to experiment in the semi-final. He changed the traditional design he used for a line of three in the background plus the support of Manuel Ugarte (the axis) to be the first outing. Although Uruguay seemed somewhat disorganized at the beginning of the match, little by little, it calmed down and got into the game. Colombia kept the classic structure of the Lorenzo era, with James Rodríguez behind the center forward and a lively Luis Díaz as left forward.
In a first half of high intensity, Uruguay knew how to open the account perfectly. If Darwin Núñez had the best goal. The Liverpool striker had three options to score on goal, and he failed in all three. This is one of the main criticisms of the striker: he wastes most of his chances. The first came in the 17th minute, with a shot that went narrowly wide. In the 22nd minute, he managed another shot. The clearest was in the 27th minute, when he pulled back a shot in front of Camilo Vargas’ goal.
The Celestial adapted to the project and complicated the existence of the Caribbean peoples. One detail generates a change: the forced departure of Rodrigo Bentancur, due to injury. The work of the Uruguayan midfielder canceled James. But the Uruguayan midfielder had to come out and the Colombian number 10 appeared, with the precision of his left foot. Once again, the dead ball is the key for Lorenzo’s team. Minute 39 and the yellows open the scoring thanks to a header from Jefferson Lerma, joining a corner from James. Goalkeeper Rochet is halfway through the start and the ball sneaks past the near post.
In the best moment of coffee farmers, Daniel Muñoz makes a mistake and gets kicked out. The most outstanding right-back in the Cup, who was already wearing yellow, received a red for an avoidable hit on Ugarte. Mexican referee César Ramos did not even go to the video referee’s screen to send off the Colombian. Everything good that was in the first 45 minutes was jeopardized by Muñoz’s action.
Colombia had to rearm with 10 men in the squad. Lorenzo organised a 4-4-1, giving the ball to Uruguay (he finished with five at the back). Bielsa, the champion of attacking football, sent all the meat to the grill. He even made a double 9, with the entry of Luis Suárez, replace Darwin Núñez throughout the Copa América. In the 71st minute, the Inter Miami striker hits a post.
If the first half was intense and tense, the second half raised the temperature among the players, provoking a series of warnings. Uruguay found itself completely focused on attack, while Colombia went through the most uncomfortable passages of the tournament: conceded on its own ground and with a Vargas goalkeeper enduring the attacks. Until he finally managed to hold on.
After 23 years, the Colombian national team enters the Copa América final. It was in 2001, when they were crowned champions at home for the first and only time, beating Mexico. On Sunday, they will face Argentina, in a match that promises a lot.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
