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Chile Beats Colombia on Penalties to Advance at 2019 Copa America
June 29, 2019
Chile won a penalty shootout 5-4 to defeat Colombia in the 2019 Copa America quarterfinals following 90 scoreless minutes Friday night at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Although Chile was the more dangerous side throughout, highlighted by its 57 percent advantage in possession and 10-6 edge in shot attempts, La Roja had two goals disallowed following review, which forced the physical knockout match to get decided by penalties.
Alexis Sanchez delivered the winning shootout goal for the Chileans after William Tesillo missed wide for Los Cafeteros.
The start of the quarterfinal was delayed by 20 minutes because Chile's team bus was late arriving to the stadium after getting stuck in heavy traffic.
A physical encounter ensued once the fixture finally got underway as the first half featured 17 fouls and just a single shot on target. Each team was also assessed a yellow card before halftime.
Chile appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute as midfielder Charles Aranguiz latched on to a rebound and flicked it across the goal line from a tight angle. The video assistant referee (VAR) determined Sanchez was offside during the buildup, however, and wiped the goal off the scoreboard.
It was deja vu for La Roja just before the hour mark as Arturo Vidal blasted a shot through traffic that found the net. The referee called for VAR again, however, and the review found Guillermo Maripan committed a handball just before the Barcelona midfielder struck his shot.
Neither side was able to find a late winner in regulation as the pace slowed considerably in the final minutes. The quarterfinals don't feature extra time, so the match went straight to penalties.
The first four players for each team converted their penalty, but Tesillo hammered his attempt well wide of the left post to open the door for Chile. Sanchez made no mistake on the final kick of the shootout to punch La Roja's ticket to the semifinals.
They will face the winner of Saturday's final quarterfinal between Uruguay and Peru in the tournament's penultimate round Wednesday.