Chile Beats Colombia 2-0 In Copa America Semifinal After Two-Hour Rain Delay

After a more than two-hour delay caused by a storm in Chicago, Chile defeated Colombia 2-0 in the second Copa America Centenario semifinal at Soldier Field on Wednesday night.

Chile Beats Colombia 2-0 In Copa America Semifinal After Two-Hour Rain Delay

Chile, who thrashed Mexico 7-0 in their previous game, were missing two key midfielders on Wednesday, with Arturo Vidal suspended and Marcelo Diaz injured. AC Milan forward Carlos Bacca, meanwhile, was unfit to start for Colombia, but came off the bench for the final ten minutes.

Charles Aranguiz opened scoring for Chile in the seventh minute with a volley past Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina. Colombian midfielder Juan Cuadrado attempted to make a clearing header on Jose Fuenzalida’s cross, but it flew into the middle of the box instead, and Aranguiz netted the ball with a one-time kick from about six yards out to put Chile up 1-0 with his first goal of the tournament.

Aranguiz paused for a second or two before celebrating as he glanced back towards the assistant referee, but despite what he initially believed, he was well onside.

Chile then doubled their lead in the 11th minute with a goal from Fuenzalida, who collected the rebound of forward Alexis Sanchez’s shot that came off the left post. After Ospina dove for Sanchez’s shot, he was unable to recover to the middle and Fuenzalida tapped it into the nearly wide-open net to make it 2-0.

Ospina then made a key save four minutes later, after Sanchez dribbled past a defender inside Colombia’s penalty area and shot to the right side.

The Colombian keeper praised Sanchez, his Arsenal teammate, after the game.

“He’s not just a great player, he’s an excellent person,” Ospina said of the Chilean.  “He’s showing what he is made of [at the Copa America] with his movement, competitiveness and use of the ball. I’m happy for him.”

Midway through the first half, there seemed to be no hope for Colombia, with no major offensive plays except for a shot from Roger Martinez in the 23rd minute after James Rodriguez set him up with a pass. Chilean goalie Claudio Bravo, however, managed to save the ball. Bravo, who plays for Barcelona, momentarily went down six minutes before that after he collided awkwardly with Martinez.

Chile’s Pedro Pablo Hernandez then injured himself in the 25th minute after Carlos Sanchez and Daniel Torres sandwiched him in a collision. Hernandez tried to play on, but the pain seemed to be too big, and he hobbled off the field to be replaced by Erick Pugar in midfield.

In the 32nd minute, Colombian defender Santiago Arias, from an offside position, burst beyond the back line and drew a messy save from Bravo, who rushed out for the stop.

Then two minutes before halftime, Colombia’s Carlos Sanchez hit a dramatic dipping shot that seemed headed for the far bottom corner of the net until Bravo stuck out a hand.

The crowd at Soldier Field was far below capacity, the night after a 70,858 sell-out in Houston for Argentina’s 4-0 win over the US. There was almost no one in the stands during half time as fans retreated to the inside of the arena after the thunderstorm began to pick up.

Finally, at 10:25 pm local time, after several efforts from the ground crew to dry the sodden field, the second half started.

Just two minutes after the break, Colombia became aggravated after Chile’s Gonzalo Jara clearly fouled Daniel Torres in the penalty box, but Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar waved play on.

Aguilar angered Colombia again in the 57th minute after he gave their own Sanchez a second yellow card after a slight foul on Aranguiz on the still-soaked field, thus dismissing the Colombian.

Chile themselves were denied an obvious penalty when Cristian Zapata hacked down Alexis with four minutes to go. Colombia, who was now playing with 10 men, was ultimately unable to find the back of the net in the final minutes.

A fan also ran onto the field in the second-to-last minute of the game, which ended around 11:15 pm local time.

Chile will now move on to play Argentina in Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, while Colombia will face the US on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona to determine third place, in a rematch of the Cup’s opening game, which the US lost 2-0.

PHOTO: CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 22: Daniel Torres #16 of Colombia shoots on goal during a semi-final match against Chile in the 2016 Copa America Centernario at Soldier Field on June 22, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena