Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez unleashed a flurry of punches at Colombian supporters.© X (Twitter)

Ten-man Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 to reach the final of the Copa America for the first time in 23 years after an ill-tempered semi-final on Wednesday. A 39th-minute Jefferson Lerma header sealed victory for the Colombians, who will now face holders Argentina in Sunday’s final in Miami. It was an anarchic semi-final played in front of a packed and passionate crowd which ended with scuffles on the field and fighting in the stands, including several players who had climbed in among supporters amid the flying punches.

Colombia, despite having Daniel Munoz sent off just before the interval and facing plenty of Uruguay pressure, hung on for a famous victory to the delight of their massive following of fans.

The downtown streets of the North Carolina city were packed with partying fans in bright yellow Colombia jerseys hours before the kick-off.

Inside the 74,800 capacity Bank of America Stadium, it was like a home game in Bogota with only pockets of Uruguayan supporters breaking up the wall of yellow on all four sides of the venue.

Not surprisingly in such an atmosphere, Colombia started strongly with their livewire Liverpool winger Luis Diaz doing well to wriggle some space for a cross on the left, finding Daniel Munoz at the back post but the full-back’s header was off target.

Uruguay were, as always, a threat on the counter-attack and their Liverpool star, Darwin Nunez, was close to finishing off one break when Rodrigo Bentancur found him with a clever pass but the forward poked his shot wide.

Nunez had another opening when Maximiliano Araujo played him clear in the inside-right channel but the striker rushed his shot, blasting high and wide.

At the other end, Colombia forced a turnover which led to James Rodriguez curling in a cross from the right but Jhon Cordoba’s header was off target.

Lerma breakthrough

The breakthrough came in the 39th minute when Lerma rose majestically above Jose Maria Gimenez and powerfully headed home Rodriguez’s corner.

It was the sixth assist of the tournament for Rodriguez with the former Real Madrid midfielder beating the record for most assists in a single Copa, which was set by Lionel Messi in 2021.

Colombia looked to make the most of their momentum with Richard Rios forcing a save out of Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet, after being played in by Munoz.

But having been so influential down the right in the opening half, Munoz lost his head completely, just before the break, picking up a second yellow card, after landing an elbow on Manuel Ugarte.

It was a moment of madness which left Colombia to defend their lead with just 10 men for the entire second half.

Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo took off Rodriguez, who was also on a yellow card, in the 62nd minute as Uruguay gradually began to turn their numerical advantage into real pressure.

Nicolas de la Cruz threatened with a low drive before substitute Luis Suarez clipped the outside of the post with a drive from the edge of the box after good work from Federico Valverde.

Valverde, the Real Madrid midfielder, then went close himself with a low drive as Colombia’s back-line continued to ride their luck.

Giveaway from Uruguay keeper and fell to Mateus Uribe, who despite time and space placed his shot wide of the post.

In stoppage time Uruguay had a great chance to force penalties when Nunez laid the ball off to substitute Giorgian de Arrascaeta on the edge of the box but he leaned back and put his shot over the bar.

There was still time for Uribe to waste another chance to make sure of the win, this time hitting the bar in the final minute, but he will be forgiven his wastefulness by the delirious Colombian supporters.

The celebrations were marred by ugly scenes in the stands will concern organizers CONMEBOL ahead of a final which is sure to attract huge numbers of Argentines as well as Colombians.

The United States crashed out of the Copa America on Monday after a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay, as Panama sealed their place in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Bolivia. The tournament hosts suffered an upset 2-1 defeat to Panama last week and went into Monday’s final Group C game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City needing to match or better Panama’s result against Bolivia to advance. But US coach Gregg Berhalter’s side never looked like doing enough to seriously threaten a well-drilled Uruguay who advance to the last eight as group winners.

“Just looking at the faces of the staff and the players, we’re bitterly disappointed with the results,” Berhalter said.

“We know that we’re capable of more and in this tournament we didn’t show it. It’s really as simple as that. We should have done better.

“We’ll do a review and figure out what went wrong, why it went wrong, but it’s an empty feeling right now for sure.”

USA captain Christian Pulisic blamed a lack of attacking quality.

“We had a good start and brought a lot of energy, but just didn’t have enough quality,” he said. “We just couldn’t find a solution.”

Hopes of a great escape for Berhalter’s men faded inside the first 30 minutes as news filtered through that Panama had taken a 1-0 lead against Bolivia in Orlando.

US hopes were revived early in the second half after Bolivia equalised, leaving the hosts on course for qualification, provided they continued to hold Uruguay.

Yet the US optimism was punctured just moments later when Uruguay took the lead in controversial circumstances through Mathias Olivera on 66 minutes.

‘Pretty crazy’

Ronald Araujo’s powerful header from Nicolas de la Cruz’s free-kick was parried away by US goalkeeper Matt Turner, but only into the path of Olivera, who tucked away the rebound.

Replays appeared to show that Olivera was offside when Araujo first made contact with the ball, but despite a lengthy VAR review, Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega ruled that the goal should stand.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Berhalter said. “I don’t understand it, I feel like I know the offside rule pretty well.

“It’s disappointing. It really is. But you know that that happens in football, and we have to live with it.”

The mathematics of qualification looked even more bleak for the US after news that Panama had scored again through Eduardo Guerrero to regain the lead at 2-1, and the final nail in the coffin came when Cesar Yanis added a third for Panama in stoppage time.

The USA’s first-round exit raises fresh questions about the future of Berhalter, who remains deeply unpopular amongst swathes of American fans.

Berhalter was only reappointed to the US job in June last year following a hiatus after leading the team to the 2022 World Cup.

The nature of Monday’s early exit is certain to reignite debate about whether he is the best man to lead the United States into the 2026 World Cup on home soil.

Failure to defeat Uruguay, 14th in the latest FIFA rankings, extends Berhalter’s poor record against top 20 teams.

Berhalter has just five wins in 20 matches against top-20 teams during his reign, and four of those victories came against regional rivals Mexico — who were also eliminated from the Copa in the first round.

That dismal sequence continued after a toothless attacking performance against Uruguay, where the US registered only three shots on goal in a misfiring offensive display.

Defender Antonee Robinson described the officiating as “amateur hour” but stressed responsibility for the defeat lay with the players.

“Just not enough quality in the final third,” Robinson said.

“At the end of the day we weren’t good enough to get the result today. This is on us.”

World champions Argentina get an expanded Copa America under way on Thursday with Lionel Messi looking to add a second continental title in what is almost certainly his final appearance in the tournament. The 108-year-old competition is being held in the United States with the host nation among six teams from the CONCACAF region joining the 10 South American nations looking for a place in the July 14 final in Miami. While FIFA will be looking closely at the organization of the event, two years out from the World Cup which will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, the tournament’s rich history and prestige means it is much, much more than a ‘trial event’.

Argentina have won the Copa 15 times but only once, in 2021, during the Messi era and coach Lionel Scaloni has stuck largely with his World Cup-winning squad, with veterans Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi likely taking their final bow in a major tournament.

Whether this is Messi’s goodbye to elite international football is yet to be seen – the eight-times Ballon d’Or winner, now playing in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, will turn 37 four days after Thursday’s opener in Atlanta against Canada and has yet to decide whether he will try to play in a record sixth World Cup.

“It’s great to have records and continue to achieve things but I won’t take part in a World Cup just to say I’ve done six,” Messi told ESPN last week.

“If I feel good and everything is in place for me to be there, fine, but I won’t go just to go. It’s very difficult to imagine what can happen because it’s still two years away. I don’t need to commit right now to whether or not I’ll be there,” he added.

What is certain is that Messi, who has managed his workload to try to be in peak condition for the tournament, would relish the chance to win a third straight major tournament with his country after so many years of frustration with his national team.

Tough opposition

After facing Canada, Argentina take on Chile in New Jersey before finishing their group A action against Peru in Miami but they know that tough opposition awaits in the knock-out stage with rivals Brazil and Uruguay the two expected challengers for the title.

Brazil have struggled in CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup having won just two of their opening six games and they currently sit in sixth place in the standings having lost to Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina.

There are several familiar names missing from Dorival Junior’s Brazil squad with Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus and Thiago Silva left out while Richarlison and Neymar are both missing due to injury.

The pressure will be on the Real Madrid attacking pair of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo to translate their club form into success for the Selecao while there is much excitement around the senior tournament debut of 17-year-old talent Endrick, who is set to join Real next month from Palmeiras.

Uruguay, also 15-times winners, have impressed under their 68-year-old Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa, who has brought his trademark high-energy style to the team and raised expectations with recent wins over Argentina and Brazil.

Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez will lead the line although Bielsa has the option of introducing veteran Luis Suarez from the bench.

Colombia head into the tournament without a loss in over two years and with Liverpool’s livewire winger Luis Diaz a constant threat and James Rodriguez enjoying a late career revival, Nestor Lorenzo’s team can’t be discounted.

The USA will hope that they can generate some sorely needed excitement after losing their way since a creditable run to the last-16 at the World Cup.

Coach Gregg Berhalter is under some pressure to show he can get his team, which relies on the smart wing play of Christian Pulisic, to compete with teams from outside of CONCACAF.

Mexico have guested frequently in the Copa in the past and reached the final in 1993 and 2001, but they look well below their usual level although they can, as always, count on huge support in the USA.

This is the second time the Copa America is being held in the USA, after the Centenary tournament in 2016, and while that is a break with tradition the presence of significant immigrant communities from all the competing nations, should ensure big crowds at the mostly NFL stadiums being used.

Neymar twisted his knee in a collision with Uruguayan midfielder Nicolas de la Cruz.© AFP