Alexis Sanchez was the hero for Chile last night as his winning penalty sent them through to the semifinals of the Copa America. Find out how the match unfolded right here.
After qualifying in second place in Group C, Chile were up against Colombia for a place in the last four.
Wins against Japan and Ecuador would have filled the group with confidence prior to a set back against Uruguay. An Edison Cavani goal in the last 10 minutes of the match meant they failed to top the group, but nonetheless it was another competitive showing.
As you would expect last night’s match was a fiery affair. There were a total of 40 fouls in the match, with five yellow cards. Perhaps some of the players’ were frustrated given they had to put kick-off time back 20 minutes as the Chilean coach got stuck in traffic ahead of the game.
It did seem that Chile had the better of the play, though, throughout the contest. Reviewing the match stats afterwards, you could see that Chile dominated possession and were also a lot more productive on the ball with a pass accuracy of 80% compared to Colombia’s 69%.
This translated into chances created too, with the Chilean’s having the ball in the back of the net twice all for the video assistant referee to rule them out.
Neither side could legitimately break the deadlock before the 90 minutes and extra time was up, therefore, the penalty shootout alarm sounded.
However, this was no reason to panic for Sanchez and his teammates, given the last two Copa America titles they won in 2015 and 2016 were via a penalty shootout.
When William Tessilo stepped up to take his spot kick, the scores were level on 4-4 and the Colombian knew he had a chance to put severe pressure on whoever was up next for Chile. But, Tessilo missed meaning Chile’s next penalty could clinch them the win.
The shootout winner means Sanchez continues his excellent tournament for La Roja, scoring two goals prior to this match in the group stages.
Chile are now through to the semifinals and will face Uruguay or Peru on Wednesday evening (local time).