From left, Eduardo Vargas, Alexis Sanchez and Jose Pedro
Fuenzalida of Chile celebrate against Colombia during a semi-final match
in the 2016 Copa America.
Chile beat Colombia 2-0 in the
Copa America semi-final on Wednesday and will face Argentina in Sunday's
final after surviving a tumultuous match in Chicago that was halted for
more than two hours due to a torrential rain storm.
Chile were already two goals up at half time but the second half was
delayed as an electrical storm powered towards Soldier Field and
drenched the stadium with rain.
The teams came back to a waterlogged pitch and Colombia, who had a
man sent off early in the second period, could not reduce the deficit.
"We played well but Chile are a very strong side," Colombian midfielder Juan Cuadrado said after the final whistle.
"We thought a comeback was possible but sometimes things don't work out like you want."
The result takes Chile into a mouth-watering final against Argentina
in New Jersey on Sunday. The game will be a repeat of last year's final
in Santiago that the host nation won on penalties.
The reigning champions came into the game on a high after beating Mexico 7-0 and took only six minutes to make their mark again.
Former Chelsea midfielder Cuadrado misdirected a header across his
own goal straight to Charles Aranguiz and the Leverkusen midfielder had
the straightforward task of sidefooting past David Ospina.
Chile doubled their lead four minutes later after an Alexis Sanchez
shot rebounded off the post into the path of Jose Pedro Fuenzalida.
Frank Fabra of Colombia steals the ball from Mauricio Isla of Chile
With Ospina beaten, the
Universidad Catolica full back scored one of the easiest goals of his
career by sidefooting into the empty net.
Chile, who were already missing midfielders Arturo Vidal and Marcelo
Diaz, lost Pedro Pablo Hernandez after half an hour when he limped off
injured and the resulting reshuffle took the wind out of their sails.
Colombia came back into the game, with James Rodriguez coming close
with two shots and creating chances for Roger Martinez and Edwin
Carmona.
However, Claudio Bravo was in fine form and it stayed 2-0 at the break.
Colombia pushed on after the restart with a lively Rodriguez leading
the attack but were dealt a huge blow in the 56th minute when
influential midfielder Carlos Sanchez was sent off for a second yellow
card offence.
Colombia did not give up and came close on several occasions but
conditions underfoot were difficult for both sides and the score
remained 2-0.
The Andean side will now play hosts United States in the third-fourth place playoff on Saturday.
Argentina beat the United States 4-0 on Tuesday night to reach their second consecutive Copa America final.
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