Argentina 1-1 Colombia (3-2 on penalties): 5 Talking points as Messi's brilliance and Emi Martinez heroics help Argentina to the finals on penalties | Copa America 2021
Argentina beat Colombia 3-2 on penalties after their Copa America 2021 semi-final ended 1-1 in regular time to book their place in the summit clash. They will now take on reigning champions Brazil for continental glory.
Lionel Messi bagged his fifth assist of the tournament as he helped set up Lautaro Martinez's seventh-minute opener. But the hero of the game was goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who saved three penalties in the shootout.
Colombia had been the better side for the most part but they were simply ineffective in front of goal. They equalized, however, in the 61st minute via Luis Diaz and then survived waves of Argentine pressure before full-time. But the nerves eventually got to them in the penalties and they could not repeat their performance from the shootout against Uruguay.
Messi and Lautaro Martinez combined for the second game in a row and ensured an early lead for Argentina. Messi was played through by a great ball from Giovanni Lo Celso and the Barcelona man held off a couple of Colombian defenders before picking a pass for Lautaro Martinez. The Inter Milan forward made no mistake and swept the ball in to find the back of the net from inside the box.
Colombia hit the woodwork twice in the first half and grew into the game after an early setback. VAR arrived to rescue Argentina in the 53rd minute when a video check confirmed that the ball had struck Guido Rodriguez's chest and not his hand during a Colombian attack in the box. The relief was short-lived, though, as Colombia pulled one back through Diaz, who was the dangerman for his side throughout the game.
Diaz's run was spotted by Edwin Cardona and the forward kept a cool head under pressure from the Argentina defense to lob the ball over Emiliano Martinez from close range.
Argentina would get a golden opportunity well into the second half. In the 72nd minute, David Ospina committed himself and came out of the box to defend against Angel di Maria after a stray pass from his defense. Di Maria left the keeper on the ground with his quick feet and released Martinez into the box. But the striker failed to add to his tally with a poor finish, which was cleared off the line with ease.
Messi hit the post in the 80th minute and was also awarded a free kick late in the game, which struck the wall. As the two teams could not be separated after injury time, the game went to penalties.
Lionel Messi, Leandro Paredes and Lautaro Martinez scored for Argentina, while Rodrigo de Paul skied his penalty. But the miss didn't count for much as Emiliano Martinez's saves from Yerry Mina, Davinson Sanchez and Edwin Cardona meant Argentina won 3-2 in the shootout and put their old blues from the spot behind them.
As the stage is set for the clash between the two South American heavyweights, Argentina and Brazil at the Maracana on Saturday (July 10), here we take a look at the five talking points from this thrilling encounter.
#5 Argentina take an early lead yet again
Argentina have made a habit of scoring early goals in recent games and have scored the opener in their last nine games. In their Copa America 2021 fixtures, they have opened the scoring in the first 15 minutes of the game on four out of six occasions.
Martinez's goal was the second occasion in the tournament when Argentina took the lead within the first 10 minutes of the game. They also scored via Alejandro Gomez in the sixth minute against Bolivia in their final group stage fixture. Messi was the creator of both goals.
This early lead helped Argentina set the tone for a very physical game from there on. Colombia created the better share of chances after this in the first half though, hitting the woodwork twice and forcing a good save from Emiliano Martinez.
#4 Luis Diaz shows off his finishing skills against another big team
Luis Diaz scored the equalizing goal for Colombia in the 61st minute and it was another piece of brilliance from the 24-year-old striker. He was Colombia's greatest threat throughout the game and ensured that their dominance in the game was reflected on the scoresheet with a fine finish.
This was the Porto man's second goal of the tournament and was even more important than the first one. He scored a wonderful acrobatic goal in the important group stage clash against Brazil, though the reigning champions came back from behind to win the game.
He has now scored against Argentina and troubled them throughout the night. Diaz has slowly emerged as a big-game player for Los Cafeteros.
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