WANT-AWAY STRIKER Carlos Tevez will now be able to concentrate on sorting out his club career following Argentina’s exit from the Copa América.
How it Happened: The Manchester City star was the one to miss as Uruguay won a penalty shootout 5-4 after the sides drew 1-1 after extra time.
The eventual winners took an early lead in the sixth minute of the game – Diego Forlan’s free kick was headed back across goal by Martin Cáceres, allowing midfielder Diego Pérez to slide in and fire the ball to the back of the net.
However, the one-time tournament favourites were level just twelve minutes later when Barcelona star Lionel Messi curled a perfectly-weighed cross into the box where Gonzalo Higuain was waiting to pounce.
Goalscorer Pérez was shown red on 38 minutes. He had been booked early on for a challenge on Javier Mascherano – who was later sent off himself – and despite being given his marching orders and reducing Uruguay to ten minute just before the break, Argentina were unable to capitalise on their advantage.
Into extra time and penalties the game went, and it was Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera who proved to be the hero – saving Tevez’s fiercely-hit spot kick and putting his country into the semi-finals.
Key Player: Muslera made the crucial difference in the shootout. However, he also made a number of key saves during the match itself and kept his side in the game with a stunning save from Higuain in the second half.
Turning Point: Pérez’s goal in the opening minutes had Argentina on the back foot from almost the very start and the hosts were simply never given too much time to shine after that.
Meanwhile, two goals from Carlos Lobatón and Juan Vargas ensured another surprise in Saturday evening’s other quarter-final as Peru beat Colombia 2-0. The latter were favourites to secure a semi-final spot and even missed a penalty to open the scoring in a match they did dominate for long spells – Radamel Falcao the culprit.
Both sides missed decent chances to score in the 90 minutes and it was Luis Martínez in the Colombian goal that blinked first after 102 minutes. The keeper came to collect a free-kick from Vargas but spilled the ball to the feet of Lobatón, who was more than happy to take advantage of the empty net in front of him.
Colombia had no choice but to press for an equaliser after that and as numbers poured forward, striker Paolo Guerrero claimed the ball during a pacy counter attacked to feed Vargas, who duly fired home to seal a famous win.
Next up: Uruguay will now face Peru in the last four on Tuesday.
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