In the biggest upset of the 2011 Copa America thus far,
Uruguay have defeated tournament hosts Argentina on penalties in
their quarter-final in Santa Fe.
The match itself ended 1-1
as Argentina dominated large portions of the contest, but Uruguay
showed their steel to win the shootout 5-4 and eliminate the
favourites. Carlos Tevez, the figure at the centre of much transfer
debate, had his spot-kick saved by Fernando Muslera while Uruguay
converted all of their penalties in clinical fashion.
Uruguay got off to the ideal start against their South American
rivals when Diego Perez prodded home from close range inside the
first five minutes. Diego Forlan's free-kick was nodded down inside
the area by Alvaro Pereira allowing Perez to move unmarked at the
far post to slide in the opening goal.
However, the Uruguayans' advantage would not last long as
Argentina hit back through striker Gonzalo Higuain. After a
counter-attack from Uruguay broke down in the 17th-minute,
Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi cut inside from the right flank
and sent an inch-perfect delivery for Higuain to head home.
The hosts then gained the upper hand on 38 minutes when Perez
was shown his second yellow card and sent from the pitch. Messi,
Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero looked to make the most of the
extra space after the half-time interval, but for all of their
endeavour they were unable to make their dominance count on the
scoreboard.
Four minutes from full-time and both sides were down to ten-men,
after Javier Mascherano was also shown his second yellow of the
match for a foul on Luis Suarez.
Sergio Batista brought on Tevez for Aguero moments before the
final whistle, and the substitution nearly paid off as Tevez
launched a thunderous free-kick in the final minute of the game.
But Muslera was up to the task, making a fine save with his foot as
the free-kick deflected off the wall and reacting smartly to deny
Higuain off the rebound.
Neither side could make the breakthrough in extra-time, though,
despite the persistent efforts of Higuain, Tevez and substitute
Javier Pastore, as Uruguay were forced further onto the back foot
as time wore on.
However, World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay held their nerve the
better of the two sides in the penalty shootout to progress to the
final four of the tournament.
In the semi-finals Uruguay will take on Peru,
who scored twice in extra-time to defeat Colombia
2-0 in Cordoba on Saturday.
Carlos Lobaton and Juan Vargas were the heroes for Peru, but
only after Colombia spurned their chances to win the game during
the 90 minutes. Falcao missed a penalty just after the hour-mark,
while fellow striker Dayro Moreno hit the post with a stinging
strike.
Indeed, Colombia looked the more likely of the two sides
throughout the contest, but after Falcao sent his spot-kick wide on
65 minutes following Alberto Rodríguez's foul on Moreno, the
momentum shifted toward the resilient Peruvians.
Peru broke the deadlock after 101 minutes when Colombian
goalkeeper Luis Martinez collided with his own defender Mario Yepes
and failed to claim a high free-kick. Lobaton was on hand to fire
home the loose ball from the edge of the area.
The upset victory was then sealed 10 minutes later when Vargas
scored to send Peru into the Copa America semi-finals for the first
time since 1983.