Copa America Results 2015: Chile vs. Peru Score, Updated Event Fixtures

The hosts were forced to play without Gonzalo Jara, got pushed to the brink against a physical Peru team and saw opportunity after opportunity fall through the cracks. 

They still got the job done.

Eduardo Vargas scored two goals and Chile held possession for nearly three-quarters of the match as they earned a 2-1 victory over Peru and advance to Saturday's Copa America final. Undefeated going into the final, Chile will play the winner of Tuesday's semifinal between Argentina and Paraguay. They will look to become the first host since Colombia to celebrate before their home crowd.

The Chileans entered having to figure out a strategy without Jara, who received a three-game ban for provoking Uruguay's Edinson Cavani during their quarterfinal matchup. The defender appeared to poke Cavani's backside and allegedly made derogatory comments about his father, per the Guardian.

"It will be a shame for all of us if Gonzalo is suspended because he is a fundamental player for us," goalkeeper Paulo Garces said, per Nicholas McGee of Goal.com. "But we have 23 players and 23 are prepared for these circumstances. Hopefully whoever has to play can do so in the same way as Gonzalo has done."

Andre Penner/Associated Press

For much of the first half, Chile found themselves trying and failing to score the match's first goal. Their attack would consistently get into the teeth of the Peruvian defense, only for a well-timed tackle or even a foul to halt the momentum. Peru defender Carlos Zambrano was shown two cards in the first 20 minutes before being sent to the showers.

The decision to give Zambrano a red was almost certainly the correct one but will do little to quell allegations of referees giving the home country favoritism. 

"I do not agree with those who say there is favouritism," Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli said before the match, per the Business Standard. "Chile has played a great tournament but in semifinals we will face a team that has been growing, a confident team and one who has certainly better offensive tactics than Uruguay, so it will be very difficult."

Sam Kelly of ESPN had a disagreement with the call that sent Zambrano packing:

Despite playing at a one-man disadvantage, Peru were able to keep Chile off the board until the 42nd minute. Vargas was in the right place at the right time after a beautiful Alexis Sanchez pass bounced off the post and into his right foot. The forward controlled the ricochet and hit a right-footed shot past Pedro Gallese to give Chile a 1-0 lead going into the half.

While Chile largely dictated the pace in the second half as well, their own mistakes put the match in jeopardy. A dangerous cross by Luis Advincula was deflected by defenseman Gary Medel and sent past keeper Claudio Bravo in the 60th minute to knot the score 1-1. 

Luis Hidalgo/Associated Press

Luckily, Vargas had perhaps the finest goal of the entire tournament waiting to save Medel from being criticized by his entire country. Loading up from well outside the box, Vargas sent a knuckling rocket past the outstretched arms of Gallese to put Chile back ahead in the 64th minute. 

The best shot Peru had of knotting the match back up came 10 minutes later, when Bravo thwarted a well-timed header from Claudio Pizarro. It was the second time in three minutes Bravo was able to hold off a header.

Matchup	Date	Time
Argentina vs. Paraguay	Tuesday, June 30	7:30 p.m. ET
Chile vs. TBD	Saturday, July 4	TBD

Pizarro was given one more opportunity in the 85th minute, but his header missed wide left. Peru finished the match with only four shots on goal.

Now, Chile will have to wait to see what comes next. Argentina undoubtedly have the best all-around team in the tournament on paper but haven't found their goal-scoring prowess quite yet. The same could be said for Paraguay, though, who played the Argentines to a 2-2 draw during their group matchup.