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Argentina kept their cool as they ousted Colombia from the 2015 Copa America 5-4 on penalties. A match that was dominated completely by La Albiceleste saw them go through to the semi-finals of the tournament after penalties decided the outcome following a 0-0 draw after normal time.
A great attacking performance by Tata Martino’s men saw them do everything apart from scoring. Credit must also be given to Colombia’s goalkeeper David Ospina, who kept his team in the game with some great saves. Colombia started the game with captain Radamel Falcao on the bench, dropped for his lack of form throughout the tournament.
The first half saw Argentina get out of the blocks very quickly as Angel Di Maria was a constant threat on the left wing. He was getting the better of Zuniga on that flank, and his lovely ball helped Javier Pastore get a shot on target, but it was deflected away. Soon, Di Maria’s corner saw Rojo head over, and then Messi’s shot was straight at Ospina and saved, again from the Manchester United man’s cross.
The Argentinians had their claims for a penalty turned down correctly after Mejia challenged Aguero and got the ball. Just after that, both Aguero and Messi went close and Jose Pekerman’s team had Ospina to thank for keeping them in the game. The goalkeeper pulled off a brilliant double save, stopping Aguero’s shot with his feet, despite going in the opposite direction, and then parried Messi’s rebound header to safety in a reflex stop.
Colombia played to defend in second half
The second half saw Colombia sit even deeper, and look to absorb all of Argentina’s attacks. The introduction of Cardona for Gutierrez midway through the first half helped them maintain their shape better, and so, they put 9 men behind the ball, as they were only focused on not conceding. Cuadrado was a lucky man to be on the pitch after he fouled Rojo late and escaped without a booking.
Colombia brought on Falcao for Jackson Martinez, and Argentina brought on Carlos Tevez for Sergio Aguero. Martino’s men were pushing for a win, and their attempts saw them go real close as they hit the woodwork twice.
First, Eber Banega’s shot from distance bounced off the crossbar, and immediately after that, Nicolas Otamendi’s flick from Di Maria’s corner was pushed onto the post by Ospina. The last real chance came when Zapata’s touch almost put the ball past Ospina and into the goal but was cleared off the line by Murillo.
No extra-time in Copa America quarters and semis
With no extra-time, the match went straight to penalties, where we saw some great conversions, and then some horrendous misses. The first miss came from Muriel for Colombia, who blasted his attempt high. Lavezzi then scored, and Cardona was lucky as his penalty squirmed through after Romero had saved it. Biglia though put the final penalty wide, and we went to sudden death.
Zuniga’s penalty was saved by Romero, while Rojo missed his shot, putting it onto the bar. Murillo then hit his penalty into orbit and Carlos Tevez stepped up to calmly convert and take Argentina through to the semi-finals, where they await the winners of the Brazil-Paraguay encounter.
