Copa America 2021: Colombia shocks Uruguay to reach semis, Argentina comfortably tames Ecuador

By Team Newsable | First Published Jul 4, 2021, 1:02 PM IST

The 2021 Copa America is done with its quarterfinal commitments, as the four teams for the semis are confirmed. Meanwhile, a couple of those teams were confirmed on Saturday night, as we present how they managed to do it.

Things are about to get even intense in the Copa America 2021, as the four semi-finalists have been decided. Meanwhile, on Saturday night, a couple of more sides sealed their place for it.

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Resilient Colombia holds nerve to pip Uruguay
In the opening game of Friday night, Uruguay faced off against Colombia at the Estádio Nacional de Brasília. While Uruguay was the clear favourite to see this through, Colombia produced too much resilience for Uruguay to handle.

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The opening half was decent, with five attempts being made, while one of the Colombian shots was denied by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, as it stayed goalless at half-time. The following half was better, as the attacking attempt doubled, with 11 of it coming, while five saves were involved, including three of Uruguay's being denied by goalkeeper David Ospina.

As things ended goalless at full-time, it was off to the penalty shootout. While Colombia managed to score in all its four attempts, Ospina saved the shots from José Giménez and Matias Vina to take Colombia into the semis.

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The two sides met in the quarters for the second time, while their last encounter was back in 1993 when Colombia had won it in penalties as well.
Uruguay has failed to finish among the top four since its title win in 2011.

Argentina has it easy against Ecuador
The second game of the night saw Argentina face off against minnow Ecuador at the Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico Teixeira in Goiania. While Argentine was the favourite to see it through, it justified it with an easy 3-0 show.

Argentina played with an attacking approach right from the start, while ten overall attempts were made in the opening half. In the 40th minute, Rodrigo De Paul put Argentina ahead, thanks to Lionel Messi's assist, as it led at half-time.

The second half turned out to be eventful, too, as seven promising chances were created. Lautaro Martinez doubled the lead in the 84th minute, thanks to Messi's assist again.

Meanwhile, Colombia's Piero Hincapie was sent off at the stroke of full-time after he ruthlessly challenged Angel Di Maria, as referee Wilton Sampaio had a look through the Video Assistant Referee before pulling out the red card. In the meantime, Messi tripled the lead at the closing stages, as Argentina sealed a comfortable spot in the semis.

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Argentina scored before half-time in its 11th successive game, its longest run since 2011.
Messi scored his 76th goal for Argentina, as he is one goal behind Pele for achieving the most goals for a CONMEBOL nation.

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