Match report
Well, that was a long night. But Chile are in the final, and they’ll play Argentina on Sunday in a repeat of last year’s final. A shame that the game was delayed for more than two hours by bad weather in Chicago, but Chile were awesome in that opening 15 minutes, and Colombia never recovered.
Thanks for reading – I’m off for a Solero. Night.
Full-time: Colombia 0-2 Chile
Chile are into the final!
90 min +4: Into the wall. That sums up Colombia’s evening.
90 min +3: Free kick to Colombia 25 yards from goal. Chance for James.
90 min +2: We’re back after that minor delay, but Bravo has the ball. Seconds left.
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90 min +1: Foul on halfway, and Colombia sling it in, but it’s cleared. Now a fan is on the field, and is pursued by security. It’s all a bit tiresome.
90 min: Now James is late on Pulgar. No card, although it probably should have been. Four minutes of stoppage time, but the game’s gone.
88 min: Mark Gonzalez is on for Vargas, and then Murillo goes in late and high on Puch. Bacca is booked, but it seems as though Murillo has escaped. That was naughty from the Colombian defender.
87 min: Now it’s Chile’s turn to look perplexed at a penalty that’s not given. Lovely three-man move involving Puch, Vargas and Alexis, who was clean through, took an extra touch, before being hauled down by Zapata. Referee Aguilar says no penalty. That was possibly even clearer than James’s.
85 min: Aranguiz finds Vargas in space on the left, but his cross is missed by everyone. Silva is then yellow carded as Colombia attempt to counter-attack.
83 min: Chile break, and Alexis runs past two defenders, but Murillo does well to get back and block. Roger Martinez then fouls Aranguiz, and Chile have a free kick.
82 min: Colombia are still pressing. They just haven’t quite created one really clear chance in this second half, although they should have had a penalty after 90 seconds of it.
81 min: Perez shoots over the bar from long range. Time’s ticking.
80 min: A wasted corner, and it’s a goal kick.
79 min: Moreno shoots wide from James’s cross, but it’s deflected. Another corner, and Carlos Bacca replaces Juan Cuadrado.
78 min: Moreno races down the left and is flattened by Puch. Yellow card and a good set piece chance for Colombia.
77 min: Here’s Mark Fritzel: “Considering all the factors, this has been a crackling second half. Still seeing a few splashes now and then. Colombia’s threatened a handful of times since they went down to ten. Hard not to root for them in the face of the uneven calls. They should’ve either had a penalty or kept 11 men. Chile hasn’t slowed down their attack either.”
75 min: Vargas fouls Torres, but no yellow. The mainly Colombian crowd is unhappy.
74 min: Edson Puch on for Fuenzalida, who’s been great.
72 min: Colombia have about 20 minutes to save their tournament. Sebastian Perez is on for Fabra.
70 min: Alexis forces a corner. Roger Martinez heads clear.
68 min: Marlos Moreno, on for Edwin Cardona, finds the side netting. Then James forces a fumble from Claudio Bravo, but the Chile captain grabs the second ball just in time.
67 min: Here’s Robert Speed: “The question the ref should ask himself is whether a yellow card was warranted. If yes, and it is a second caution, he’s sent off. Whether he’s already been booked is irrelevant to the decision of whether a second booking is warranted under the laws of the game. By design.”
65 min: Chile look comfortable, and Pulgar forces a top save from Ospina! Beaten away from the Bologna man’s header.
@timmyhilleh I think Sanchez’s second yellow was for persistent fouling
— Nicholas Kohout (@KtotheOhout) June 23, 2016
Yeah, could well be. And Sanchez is hardly Mother Teresa. But I just query whether it was really necessary, considering the state of the match.
64 min: Yellow for Beausejour for a trip on Cuadrado, who splashes to the ground on halfway.
62 min: Here’s Barrett Madden: “I just don’t understand the difference between the contact that wasn’t called a penalty – it’s not even a foul – and the contact that was both whistled for a foul and given a yellow card. That seems a huge difference in the interpretation of the rules by the ref.”
Yep. Stupid decision.
60 min: James looks for Arias in the box, but it’s just too long, and it’s out for a goal kick.
On second glance, I think that second yellow from Joel Aguilar is absurd. In the context of the game, what’s the point of sending him off? It wasn’t even that bad a foul. The fans have waited around for more than two hours. It’s spoiled the game.
58 min: Well, Sanchez was certainly late on Aranguiz, and he’d already been booked, but was it really that bad? Joel Aguilar thought so. The Colombians were outraged, and they surrounded the ref, but he’d made his decision. You could argue that the ref was within his rights, but was a red card really necessary? A two-hour delay, and within 12 minutes one team is a man down.
RED CARD! (Sanchez, Colombia 57)
Oh dear. Is it all over now for Colombia?
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55 min: Both sides have begun the second period with a pleasing intensity, but there’s a lack of crispness, I’d suggest. Several misplaced passes and poor pieces of control. At least they’ve got an excuse. What’s the England national team’s?
53 min: Great first-time cross from Isla from Aranguiz’s crossfield pass, but no one had gambled on it, and it skips all the way through the six-yard box.
51 min: Daniel Torres spins, as the water comes up around him, but his cross for Martinez is too long. Just going back to that penalty shout: I think Jara really got away with one. He didn’t win the ball, but he took plenty of James.
49 min: It’s been a decent start to the second half. Neither team looks particularly sluggish, although the ball is sticking in some places.
47 min: Penalty for Colombia? Joel Aguilar says no. Jara miscontrolled, James seized upon it, and Jara tripped him! That should have been a penalty. Lucky Chile!
46 min: There’s still rather a lot of water on the pitch, although it’s not quite synchronised swimming just yet. The ball seems to be rolling OK.
PLAY RESUMES! Colombia 0-2 Chile
At last! Or, as they say in French, putain enfin!
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We’re very close. Colombia had all the momentum going into the break, even though they were two down. What to expect now?
Chile are out on the pitch. We’re about seven minutes away from kick off.
The Colombians are going through some rudimentary warm-ups. No sign of Chile yet.
The players have just run out on to the pitch! And the crowd has gone wild. It does looks pretty wet under foot, although there doesn’t seem to be too much standing water.
The players are still inside the stadium, but apparently they’ve been warming up in the past few minutes. Then we’ll have a short warm-up on the field, and hopefully get going in about 15 minutes.
My colleague Graham Russell points out that it’s not a good idea to mess around with lightning:
Remember earlier this evening when there was a football match going on?
Well, if you’d forgotten, Chile lead 2-0, through Aranguiz and Fuenzalida. This second half should be a 45-minute battle royal.
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Update – expected restart at 11.25pm ET
Add on another five minutes.
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The officials have made their way out to check on the condition of the field. According to Dr Joe, their No1 consideration is “safety of the players”. Which means, in layman’s terms, making sure the pitch is fit to play on.
If, once the game starts, the officials decide it’s not fit, they can absolutely stop the game and suspend play for a second time, says Dr Joe.
Well, the fans – at least those who have stayed – are back in their seats, and the ground crew are still doing their thing on the pitch. The players are expected to re-emerge shortly, but they’ll need to warm up.
Ok, we’re hearing we’ve been pushed back a little further: it’s now an 11.20pm ET start. Groan.
Andrew Pfannkuche is at the stadium:
@timmyhilleh They just put ”Play will resume shortly" on the screen
— Andrew Pfannkuche (@FUNPANKACE) June 23, 2016
Yep, fingers crossed we should be back on in about 10 minutes or so.
Fox Sports have finished showing the USA-Argentina non-contest, and we’re watching images of the stadium officials with their squeegees doing their best to make the field playable. Top brass clearly wants to get this game played tonight.
It looks like they really want to finish tonight:
Stadium employees using an attacking line of 10 to clear water. Looks like every effort will be made to play tonight pic.twitter.com/9bmsFuPWn4
— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) June 23, 2016
Update – organisers hope for 11pm ET restart
But we’ll just have to wait and see.
The squeegee men begin clearing the field of water. They might get this game in after... https://t.co/eCkRbKLk21 pic.twitter.com/VDMNi2SHdw
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) June 23, 2016
Mark Childs has emailed: “Guys in suits walked about 20 yards into field, turned around: expect ‘field is unplayable’ announcement in a few minutes.”
We shall see.
We’re still in position for a 10.45pm ET restart, but if we get lightning within five miles, the 30-minute clock resets. Plus the field is covered in puddles. Even if we get back on, will it be playable?
IF the #COLvCHI #CopaAmerica match is postponed tonight, they will resume it tomorrow at the start of the second half, same scoreline, etc
— Rob Stone (@RobStoneONFOX) June 23, 2016
And here’s Simon Horwell: “I live about three miles north of Soldier Field and it stopped raining here about five minutes ago. It’s still tipping it down over there, but Chicago weather is notoriously fleeting. It can look hopeless one minute and be clear skies the next. Fingers crossed.
“Spirits are good among fans (my wife is texting me updates from the stadium), and most seem to be getting drunk on the concourse.”
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But here’s Joe Martin on a more hopeful note. “In downtown Chicago, which is near the stadium, the storm has passed through and only light rain remains. Should be able to play soon.”
As it stands, we’re set for a 10.45pm ET restart.
Since many of the seats at Soldier Field are uncovered, the fans are taking shelter in the stadium’s concourses. Looks like they could be in for a long wait.
If the game were to be abandoned this evening, because the weather was too bad, I think Dr Joe Machnik indicated that we’d pick up where we left off tomorrow. In other words, we’d play the second half, with Chile leading 2-0, and wouldn’t replay the entire game from the start. But let me confirm that.
It looks pretty bad in Chicago. It’s hammering it down. Fox Sports 1, a glutton for punishment, is replaying USA’s 4-0 hammering by Argentina last night. And we’ve been pushed back to 10.45pm ET now.
We’ve been pushed back to 10.30pm ET. But even that looks optimistic.
ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle is at the stadium:
Lots of lightning and heavy rain here at Soldier Field still. We are a ways away from resuming play. #COLvCHI #Copa100
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) June 23, 2016
Some more news from the official Copa America website.
The deadline to re-start tonight's #COLvCHI match is 11 p.m. CT. Please stay tuned for further updates.
— Copa América 2016 (@CA2016) June 23, 2016
That’s 11pm in Chicago, of course, which means 12 midnight eastern. So we’ve still got two hours and 15 minutes to wait before they abandon the game.
Francisco on Fox reckons the delay will be “way longer” than the current 30 minutes or so. So we just have to wait and see, I guess.
Here’s Daniel Bliss:
@timmyhilleh Radar suggests you're in for a bit of a delay. Constant cloud-to-cloud lightning here, not much hitting ground, but risky.
— Daniel Bliss (@debliss) June 23, 2016
Update – play scheduled to resume at 10.15pm ET
Fox says we’re going to start at 10.15pm. But every time there’s a lightning strike within five miles, they effectively restart the 30-minute clock: that’s the safety protocol.
It looks as though that 9.30pm ET start time is optimistic, to say the least. No word on a restart yet.
The stands are empty at Soldier Field. Here’s a report from AP:
Fans at the Copa America semi-final between Chile and Colombia are being advised to seek shelter with dangerous weather headed for Soldier Field.
A line of thunderstorms rolled through Chicago about two hours before the game, but cleared out in plenty of time for the teams to play the first half. But organizers asked the crowd to leave the stands at halftime, and then lightning was seen near the home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
It was unclear when the second half would begin.
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An email! From Bob Morley in Santiago: “It’s quiet, really quiet – there’s almost no traffic, as everyone is glued to a TV. You could shoot a cannon down the Avenue Alemeda and nobody would notice. Regards from the colonies.”
Here’s some more info:
An update on the weather situation around #COLvCHI @SoldierField: pic.twitter.com/2x1kuf7JlD
— Copa América 2016 (@CA2016) June 23, 2016
Weather delay – play to resume at 9.30pm ET
We’ve had lightning in the Chicago area, which means the players are taking a break. We’ll get more information to you as we get it.
Half-time: Colombia 0-2 Chile
That was entertaining! Chile started like a train, and looked to be running away with it, but Colombia have done OK in the past 30 minutes, and might have got a goal. It’s not over yet! See you in 15.
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47 min +3: James volleys wide, and berates himself. Alexis is yellow-carded for catching Jeison Murillo with a stray arm.
45 min +2: Colombia have looked to attack Chile’s left side. Beausejour, I might venture, doesn’t look excessively comfortable at full-back.
45 min: James wins a corner, and Bravo punches unconvincingly. But that’s a better save, from Sanchez’s long ranger. Three minutes of stoppage time.
44 min: Zapata just bundled Vargas over just then, and the Chile striker was irate that no penalty was given. It was technically shoulder to shoulder, but it wasn’t half clumsy from Zapata.
43 min: A spell of possession for Chile, and much needed.
41 min: A booking for Carlos Sanchez, who’s no stranger to a late tackle.
39 min: Chile have been tested in the past 10 minutes or so. It’s been played mainly in their half. Colombia’s response has been good.
37 min: Remember, we’re going straight to penalties if we’re level at 90 minutes. Claudio Bravo is booked for timewasting, which, after 37 minutes, is novel, if nothing else.
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35 min: Good spell from Colombia: they’ve pushed Chile back, and they’re dominant in possession. James becoming more influential.
33 min: That’s a good chance for Arias, and another good save in the end by Bravo, although I think he got a touch lucky: Arias ran beyond the defence from the right flank, and Bravo came charging out, rather recklessly, but did enough to get a hand to it and turn it round for a corner. The set piece is wasted.
31 min: Martinez, who’s looked perky, fires one across the six-yard box, but he lacked runners. Colombia pushing hard here, and James hits one from distance. It’s wide, but not by much.
28 min: Change for Chile, and Erick Pulgar of Bologna is on.
27 min: This game is really being played at top speed. Both sides going at it. Hernandez is back on, but he’s gone down again. This is surely the end for him.
25 min: Pablo Hernandez leaves on a stretcher: he got caught in a sandwich between James and Sanchez. Is that his evening done? Chile playing with 10 for the moment.
24 min: Great chance for Roger Martinez, but he can’t beat Bravo! Wonderful forward pass from James Rodriguez, and Martinez, in the inside-right channel, ran on to it, and struck it well, but Bravo did very well to get down and block with his right hand. That’s a super save: such strong reactions to stop it from slipping underneath him.
22 min: Chile just look a yard quicker than Colombia. They’re everywhere. And all this without Arturo Vidal.
21 min: First spell for Colombia, and Cuadrado with an audacious rabona from the right side. Cheers from the crowd, but it comes to naught.
19 min: Bravo’s going to be OK to continue. Fuenzalida, who has got beyond Fabra three or four times already, fires one into the box, but this time Zapata is there to clear.
17 min: Claudio Bravo plucks one off Sanchez’s head, but he’s down, and the medical staff are on.
16 min: Colombia have just been steamrollered. What a start this has been from Chile.
14 min: Alexis almost for three! This is amazing. He picked up the ball from a throw-in on the right side this time, and just set off on a dribble, Colombian defenders bouncing off him, and forced Ospina to make a fine save! Did that take a touch off the woodwork?
12 min: Great play by Alexis, who cut in from the left, went past two and fizzed a shot that came back off the post with Ospina beaten … and Fuenzalida, following up, just tapped home from two yards. No one reacted in the Colombian defence. It just seemed to happen in slow motion.
Updated
GOAL! Colombia 0-2 Chile (Fuenzalida 11)
Two for Chile! Colombia look stunned.
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9 min: Fuenzalida was almost in again! So much space for Chile. Zapata played him onside, and Arias had to be alert to clear the danger. Colombia need to step it up.
7 min: They’re already into their stride. Chile worked it really nicely to send Fuenzalida clear on the right, and he checked back, crossed left-footed, and Cuadrado got his defensive header all wrong: in trying to clear it, he laid it on a plate for Aranguiz, who stabbed past Opsina on the volley. Aranguiz looked offside, but he wasn’t: the ball clearly came off Cuadrado’s head. Game on!
GOAL! Colombia 0-1 Chile (Aranguiz 7)
What a start for Chile!
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4 min: Chile have pushed up rather, almost to the halfway line. Beausejour tries to get going on the left flank, but it’s out of play for a throw.
2 min: Martinez wins a corner off Medel. James takes, left-footed, and Zapata is whistled for handball. Free kick Chile.
1 min: Peep peep! Colombia get us going, under reasonably clear skies. Colombia in white, Chile all in red.
Yes, some nice anthems. As is their wont, Chile continued to sing after the 90-second musical cutoff. Like MTV Unplugged, in red tracksuits.
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The teams are emerging from the tunnel. We’re allegedly five minutes away, but it’s going to be more like 10. Why can’t a soccer match in the US ever start on time?
Here’s Jonathan Wilson on tonight’s two Argentinian coaches:
If you prefer to follow along in Spanish, Luis Miguel Echegaray has all the action:
It all went off at Euro 2016 earlier. To recap: little Iceland went through, so did Ireland, Portugal and Hungary shared a zany 3-3 thriller and both qualified, Austria rivalled Russia as the tournament’s biggest flop, Zlatan Ibrahimovic departed from international football with a loss, and Salvatore Sirigu can’t get a game at PSG for a reason.
Who knows which way it’s going to go now? A Belgium-Germany final?
Some news from Colombia, which was announced earlier today:
So the big news for Colombia is that Carlos Bacca has not been included in the starting XI. He’s been suffering from a knock, and is not fit to start, so Roger Martinez, the young Racing forward, will play as the lone front man. James, Cuadrado and Cardona form the three-pronged creative group behind him.
Chile are without the suspended Arturo Vidal and the injured Edson Puch and Marcelo Diaz, so Francisco Silva and Pablo Hernandez come in, and Mauricio Isla returns in defence. Jose Fuenzalida should play a little further forward on the right side.
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Tonight's teams
Colombia: Ospina, Arias, Cristian Zapata, Murillo, Fabra, Sanchez, Torres, Cuadrado, Rodriguez, Cardona, Martinez. Subs: Robinson Zapata, Mina, Celis, Bacca, Perez, Aguilar, Medina, Dayro Moreno, Roa, Marlos Moreno, Bonilla.
Chile: Bravo, Isla, Medel, Jara, Beausejour, Aranguiz, Silva, Hernandez, Fuenzalida, Vargas, Sanchez. Subs: Toselli, Roco, Pinilla, Pulgar, Gonzalez, Castillo, Orellana, Diaz, Puch, Herrera.
Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)
Hello and welcome
It’s the second semi-final of the Copa América, and Chile and Colombia are playing for the right to take on Argentina on Sunday. But the big news tonight is weather: it’s a thunderstormy evening in Chicago, and there’s a suggestion we could be delayed, or, heaven forbid, postponed. It’s warm and sunny now, but wind, hail and heavy rain is expected later. Let’s hope things stay fine: this is a tantalising match-up between two fine teams.
Kick off is 7.05pm local time, 8.05pm ET. Join us!
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Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, read how USA’s tournament ended on Tuesday night:
Around 30% possession and zero shots on target (or off target, for that matter) told the story of a night on which the US players stumbled around the pitch with the open-mouthed adoration of fans waiting for an autograph. Sure, the US had lost three certain starters during the quarter-final triumph over Ecuador, but it was the team’s established – and emerging – stars who disappointed the most on Tuesday. Michael Bradley was as hard to press in defense as he was quick to give the ball away in attack; Clint Dempsey, starved of service and unable to free himself of the suffocating attentions of Javier Mascherano, saw the fresh reserves of energy he’d discovered in the last few matches desert him; and John Brooks endured his worst outing of the tournament.
After a performance for the ages against Paraguay, Brooks seemed – like many of his team-mates – at once distracted, subdued, and utterly overawed by the company he had been asked to keep for 90 minutes; the young defender lost Ezequiel Lavezzi for Argentina’s first goal, and from that moment the US were never really in the contest. It was like watching a wedding band joined onstage by The Rolling Stones.
Could we have expected more? After the progress of the last three games, in which the US, with a settled line-up, at last approached the mobile, attacking, aesthetic heights Klinsmann had long ago promised would be his gift to American football, this felt like a firm step back in the wrong direction. But let’s be fair: a semi-final appearance is well above par for the US at this Copa. Across most metrics – results and new talent unearthed especially, but also in the reboot that has been given to domestic football – the tournament has been a success for the home team.
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