Emiliano Martinez’s heroics in the penalty shoot-out helped Argentina (ARG) defeat Colombia (COL) in the second semi-final of the Copa America 2021. Luis Diaz canceled out Lautaro Martinez’s seventh-minute strike to take the match to a penalty shoot-out. Aston Villa goalkeeper Martinez saved three penalties, while only Rodrigo de Paul missed a spot-kick for the 14-time champions in the shoot-out.
Lionel Scaloni, Argentina head coach, made two changes from the victory over Ecuador. Nicolas Tagliafico and Guido Rodriguez returned to the playing eleven in place of Marcos Acuna and Leandro Paredes. Meanwhile, Juan Cuadrado returned to Colombia’s midfield after serving a one-match suspension.
Argentina started the match in a typical fashion, controlling the possession and putting the Colombia backline under pressure. Lionel Messi created the first big chance as he skipped past two players and crossed the ball to Martinez. However, the 23-year-old headed wide. Four minutes later, Giovani Lo Celso found Messi inside the box. The FC Barcelona player dragged the defenders towards him and immediately released the ball to unmarked Martinez, who slotted it past David Ospina for the opening goal.
Colombia found their groove after the half-hour mark. They hit the woodwork twice in the space of 30 seconds. Wilmar Barrios’ deflected effort hit the post and, from the resulting corner, Yerry Mina saw his header denied by the crossbar. At the other end, Ospina made a point-blank save to deny Nicolas Gonzalez.
The second half saw Colombia dictating the game. Martinez made a comfortable save off Diaz’s effort. But, at the hour mark, Diaz outpaced German Pezzella to chase down Edwin Cardona’s pass and then lobbed the ball over the Argentine goalkeeper to net in the deserved equalizer. Angel Di Maria and Martinez had a chance to wrap up the game. The PSG midfielder dribbled past an onrushing Ospina and squared the ball to Martinez, who only had Barrios to beat. But his tame strike was blocked on the line by the midfielder. The rebound fell to Di Maria, but he skied it over the bar.
With ten minutes left, Messi gave Colombia a scare after he hit the post from 12 yards. The match went to penalties after it finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and four minutes of added time. Cuadrado converted the opening penalty in the shoot-out, and Messi, too, made no mistake from the spot. But Martinez saved the next two of the three Colombia penalties, while Pezzella and goalscorer Martinez beat Ospina. Argentina sealed their win after Martinez stopped Cardona’s attempt. They will meet Brazil in the final on Sunday, while Colombia meets Peru in the third-place playoff.
Goalscorers: COL – L Diaz; ARG – L Martinez
Assists: COL – E Cardona; ARG – L Messi
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers: L Diaz (14 pts), L J Martinez (11 pts), L Messi (8 pts), E Cardona (6 pts), E Martinez (4.5 pts)
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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