Uruguay 0-1 Colombia: Argentina awaits Colombia in the final, Uruguayan players and fans clash

And breathe. And maybe locate the nearest defibrillator, just in case, because the basics of this match are likely to make your heart beat faster.

After a thrilling encounter in Charlotte, North Carolina, Colombia won their encounter against defending champions Argentina in the Copa America final in Miami Gardens on Sunday.

Jefferson Lerma leapt into the air in the 39th minute and his header saw Uruguay go behind for the first time in this tournament.

Daniel Munoz received a second yellow card late in the first half for elbowing Manuel Ugarte, leaving Colombia down to 10 men, but Nestor Lorenzo’s side held on. Somehow.

Television footage appeared to show clashes between players and fans in the stands after the final whistle, with Uruguayan Darwin Nunez among those trapped in the crowd.

Jack Lang and Stuart James assess the main talking points from the match…

What happened after the match between the Uruguayan players and the Colombian fans?

Several Uruguayan players, including Darwin Nunez, clashed with Colombian fans after the Copa America semi-final on Wednesday night.

After the game at Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina, altercations broke out between fans in the stands and players entering their families’ area of ​​the stadium.

GO FURTHER

Clashes between Uruguayan players and Colombian fans in the stands after the Copa America semi-final

(Buda Mendes, Getty Images)

Liverpool striker Nunez was among those involved in the incident with Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo and Atletico Madrid defender Jose Maria Gimenez also pictured nearby.

Video footage showed clashes between Colombian fans and Uruguayan players, during which objects including drinks cans were thrown. Security forces intervened before the players returned to the pitch, accompanied by their family members.

“I hope that the organizers take a little more precaution with our families, with the people and with those who are around the stadiums. Because this happens in every game,” Gimenez said.

“Our families are suffering because of some people who have a few drinks and don’t know how to drink, who behave like children. I hope they take more precautions for the next game so that this doesn’t happen again, because it’s a disaster.”

A Copa America match par excellence?

It was the Copa America, South American football, in all its glory, before a crowd so passionately Colombian that we might as well have been in Medellin. There was only one goal, but things were happening everywhere we looked, often in our peripheral vision.

You had James Rodriguez, his left foot like a waiter in a fancy restaurant, opening the game with just about his millionth assist of this tournament so far.

There was Luis Diaz, writhing like a dervish, carrying the attack towards the Uruguayan defense as if his life depended on it.

Rodrigo Bentancur played his part, clinging to Rodriguez like a bad smell before limping away. Ugarte did the same, pinching Munoz, a bit of pantomime nastiness that had exactly the desired effect.

Luis Suarez makes his presence felt (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Richard Rios danced in a corner of the pitch before collapsing. The referee allowed play to continue, even allowing Uruguay to take a free kick, before exploding, surrounded by angry men in yellow jerseys. Rios looked at the stretcher, jumped to his feet, then really needed it a few minutes later, with some extra time lost in between.

You had Colombia, who were going crazy over Uruguay, every little chance they saw to get a little more momentum out of the second half.

There was Luis Suarez, head in hands, a living meme after hitting the post, and Mateus Uribe at the other end of the pitch, ensuring the drama continued. Twice.

For what seemed like an eternity, there was the Uruguay attack and the Colombia defense, the fans experienced it all, the stands literally bounced up and down, the attrition was so pure that it became an attraction.

Football is about goals, fantasy, joy. That’s what it is. And for 90 minutes plus seven stoppages, it was absolutely brilliant.

Jack Lang

Daniel Munoz’s Moment of Madness

Colombia were one goal ahead, the game was already in first-half injury time and the right-back reacted to one of the oldest tricks in the book: the dark arts of provocation.

Manuel Ugarte managed to catch Munoz and may have even pinched him. Regardless, Munoz’s reaction was ridiculous.

The Crystal Palace defender sent his left elbow into Ugarte’s chest and the Uruguayan midfielder fell to the ground.

Darwin Nunez threw his arms up in the air as Ugarte collapsed to draw the referees’ attention to the incident, but in reality, no Uruguayan player needed to appeal: there was only one possible outcome. Munoz complained, pointing to the fact that he had been the first to be fouled, but his reaction was naive at best and downright stupid at worst.

Already under yellow card, he was playing with fire by getting involved in any incident without the ball, let alone elbowing. Ugarte had “played” Munoz, and Colombia knew that the balance of the match had completely changed.

Stuart James

Darwin Nunez’s Missed Opportunities

When he took over at Uruguay, it’s understandable why one of Marcelo Bielsa’s first tasks was to install Darwin Nunez as the main striker. Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez? Sorry guys; football is a running game and you need legs, especially when your coach wants to push the opposition into another dimension.

Nunez, with his wild-horse energy, is a natural striker for Bielsa: he chases people, makes good runs and pursues lost causes as if they were commercial opportunities. He creates space for Nicolas de la Cruz and Federico Valverde by stretching the game. None of this is really up for debate. Nor is Nunez’s inherent likability.

Do you sense a “but” coming? Of course you do. Nunez’s finishing here was like Nunez’s finishing everywhere: deeply, irredeemably random.

(Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Twice in the first half he could have given Uruguay the lead. The first chance came with his left foot, close to the penalty spot. Nunez deflected the ball wide of the target. A few minutes later, after another much trickier half-chance, which he could be forgiven for missing, he rushed on a hopeful forward pass, recovered the ball after a misjudgement by Davinson Sanchez and let fly an incredible, unstoppable shot… into the crowd.

The camera filmed his face. Nunez let out a primal scream. Millions of Uruguayans did the same.

Against Brazil, he was able to get away with a header missed thanks to the hard work of his teammates. This time, his lack of generosity ended up costing the Celeste dearly, who looked devastated at the final whistle.

GO FURTHER

Analysis of Darwin Nunez: from his years of toil at Liverpool to his career as leader of Uruguay

Jack Lang

Next stop for Colombia…Argentina

On paper, the final looks like a grand affair: the world champions are facing a team that has been unbeaten for 28 matches, more than two years. In fact, Colombia’s last defeat was against… Argentina.

Back then, Colombia was very different. Nestor Lorenzo had not yet taken the reins of the team and James Rodriguez was the man of the past. Today, Colombia and Rodriguez are unrecognizable.

Heading into this Copa America, the spotlight was on Lionel Messi, but it was Rodriguez, who turns 33 on Friday, who stole the show. He has provided six assists in five games and is arguably the tournament’s best player.

James Rodriguez celebrates Colombia’s qualification for the final (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

Colombia will, however, face Argentina without one of their key players: Munoz’s red card against Uruguay means he will miss the final through suspension, a blow given his attacking contribution (two Copa America goals and an assist) and without the ball.

As for Argentina, they have played their first five matches without having to sweat. You can tell Messi is still waiting for that special moment. The fact that Argentina have looked so formidable without their talisman being at his best is a bad omen. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.

Stuart James

What did Bielsa say?

Uruguay coach explains what went wrong in the match: “We didn’t know how to exploit the moments when we could have equalized in the first half. In these very competitive matches, the details count. In the second half, we should have created more danger.”

And after?

Colombia will face Argentina in the final on Sunday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida).

Uruguay will advance to the third-place match and face Canada on Saturday, July 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC).

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(Top photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)