+ A
A -
dpa
Chicago
Defending champions Chile beat Colombia 2-0 Wednesday in the semi-finals of the Copa America Centenario, to set up a repeat of last year's Copa America final against Argentina.
"These players' main virtue is that they are winners. Before they play a match or a tournament, they are convinced that they are going to win it. That conviction allows them to play as they do and to have the confidence they have in games," said Chile's Argentinian-born manager Juan Antonio Pizzi.
Chile, playing without their suspended star midfielder Arturo Vidal, were quick to capitalize on major mistakes by Colombia's defence.
Just seven minutes into the match, Juan Cuadrado attempted to clear a cross from Chile's Jose Pedro Fuenzalida with a header, but instead left the ball for Charles Aranguiz to shoot it into the net from very close range.
Just four minutes after that, Chile's star striker Alexis Sanchez comfortably dribbled a defender inside the box. His long-distance shot was deflected by the post, but the rebound fell to Fuenzalida and the winger made things 2-0.
The match was suspended for more than two hours at the end of the first half, due to a thunderstorm. It could eventually be completed, although the pitch, with many puddles, hardly contributed to quality play.
In the 57th minute, to make matters worse for Colombia, midfielder Carlos Sanchez was sent off for a second bookable offence.
"We need to admit our bad start, which cost us two goals," said Colombia's manager Jose Pekerman.
"It's normal for Chile to attack like they did, and we could not control them. It's to their credit that they could make the most of those instances with their great players, and we made some mistakes in defence."
Pekerman complained, however, of"a clear penalty" against Daniel Torres early in the second half, and of Sanchez's sending off.
"That penalty was not awarded," Pekerman denounced."And a little later a player was sent off for a very debatable foul."
Argentina beat the host team, the United States, 4-0 in Tuesday's semi-final to qualify for Sunday's final at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In 2015, tournament hosts Chile beat Argentina in the penalty shootout to win the first major football title in their history.
Since then, however, Argentina beat Chile 2-1 away in March in the South American qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, and again 2-0 on June 6, in the group round of the Copa America Centenario.
After losing that first game in the tournament against Argentina, Chile beat Bolivia and Panama and dealt Mexico an impressive 7-0 thrashing in the quarter-finals. With the relatively easy win against Colombia, they are well-placed to tackle the final.
"We reach the final strong, in good form and very confident. We are calm. We need to prepare the match with the certainty that we will be facing one of the best national teams in the world, and everyone knows how much they need to win a title," Pizzi said.
Argentina have lost two finals in two years: against Chile at the 2015 Copa America and against Germany in the 2014 World Cup.
On Saturday, Colombia and the United States are set to play for third place in Phoenix.
