They say Premier League games could soon be played in the US. In a sense, it has already happened.
Darwin Nunez misses, Luis Diaz runs, Luis Suarez hysterical, lung-busting action from start to finish – you’d be forgiven for forgetting this was a Copa America match
The semi-finals will take place in North Carolina.
Wednesday’s match between Colombia and Uruguay, played in an American football stadium, had an overwhelming Premier League feel, with Colombia winning 1-0 in an extremely heated match.
There was something for everyone, in fact, including Darwin Nunez’s many sceptics after the Liverpool forward wasted three chances in the first half – one of which saw team-mate Federico Valverde thrown to the ground in frustration.
There would be much more British influence.
Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez had a brutal night as he missed several big chances to score
Crystal Palace’s Jefferson Lerma scored the only goal for Colombia, who are now in the Copa America final
Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma scored the opening goal for Colombia (after an assist from James Rodriguez), who also started former Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.
Lerma’s Eagles team-mate Daniel Munoz was also shown a second, silly yellow card just before half-time when he elbowed Manuel Ugarte as Man United’s Facundo Pellestri ran back and forth on the wing without much success.
And Liverpool legend – and current Inter Miami star – Suarez was brought on as a second-half substitute with Uruguay chasing a goal. He almost got one when he hit the post from inside the penalty area.
But make no mistake: despite the current and former Premier League players, this was a distinctly South American affair. The stands of the Bank of America Stadium, and before that the streets of Charlotte, were filled with a sea of yellow.
A Colombian reporter even said a prayer in Spanish just before kick-off.
He may have needed it during a hectic, sustained evening in which Colombia held on to their narrow lead until the end.
Things looked to be going wrong for Colombia when Richard Rios was injured in the second half, not necessarily because of his earlier play, but because of the feverish reaction it provoked when Uruguay continued to play with him in the corner.
James Rodriguez angrily walked up to the referee and got in his face during the next stoppage and was subsequently shown a yellow card. The yellow card did little harm, but the moment of madness saw Uruguay crawl back into the match, a match that saw six yellow cards, one sending off and Diaz being tackled to the ground several times.
Nunez saw another chance wasted when the ball hung at his feet in the penalty area, before Colombia’s Camilo Vargas made a miraculous diving save in the 68th minute.
There was also a (disallowed) penalty and, even more memorable, the chance the ever-deadly Suarez had from close range in the 71st minute when he hit the post from right of centre.
The miss caused him to fall to the ground in shock, after which Valverde shot the ball wide a few minutes later.
Colombia narrowly held on despite substitute Mateus Uribe missing two golden chances after coming on late.
The first, in the 88th minute, was shot wide from close range and the second, even harder to miss, somehow ended up on the crossbar via Rochet.
Uruguay continued to press – after Maximiliano Araujo saw his shot saved from close range in the 88th minute – but ultimately fell short.
Colombia, who struggled for much of the second half, are now on a 28-game unbeaten run and face Argentina on Sunday in an attempt to clinch a second Copa America title.
It will be a difficult story for Nunez, who made several mistakes at Uruguay.
His nightmare began with his first miss in the 17th minute, when Valverde won the ball in midfield, ran forward and played the ball to his teammate before firing a free-kick down the left.
Five minutes later he wasted a chance from the right of the goal (slightly closer than Ollie Watkins’ goal for England earlier in the evening), before firing the ball over the bar in the 28th minute with Valverde standing to his right.
Then the Real Madrid player’s frustrations reached boiling point and it wasn’t long before Colombia made their opponents pay for the waste.
Palace’s Lerma headed in a corner from Rodriguez in the 40th minute, while Rios almost made it 2-0 just before half-time when his close-range shot was blocked by Sergio Rochet.
It was a calm and much-needed moment from the keeper, who had cleared a ball poorly earlier in the evening and was almost caught in possession by Jhon Cordoba.
That scenario changed in the second half when the Colombian goal came under fire. But this weekend they will see Lionel Messi and co.
More to follow
