Agence France-Presse
Chicago, June 23: Chile stormed into the Copa America final here Wednesday, beating Colombia 2-0 in a weather- disrupted semifinal that took more than four hours to complete.
The defending champions advanced to a repeat of last year’s final against Argentina, Sunday after a whirlwind start left Colombia chasing the game.
Chile, who had destroyed Mexico 7-0 in the quarterfinals Saturday, picked up where they left off scoring twice in the opening 11 minutes to take a grip on the contest.
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Charles Aranguiz opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Jose Pedro Fuenzalida made it 2-0 after 11 minutes.
But the explosive start to the contest was overshadowed by the intervention of Mother Nature at half time, as a powerful electrical thunderstorm rolled into downtown Chicago and halted play.
Tens of thousands of spectators were ordered to take shelter inside the stadium, leaving the ground empty as torrential rains pounded the stands.
For a while it looked as if play would be abandoned, with the teams forced to return to the venue Thursday to complete the remaining 45 minutes.
However a break in the weather allowed teams of ground staff to set about clearing excess water from the field, and after a delay of two hours and 25 minutes, the second half resumed.
When play got under way both sides produced one of the most entertaining halfs of the tournament, Colombia attacking relentlessly in an effort to get back into the match and Chile chasing a third goal to kill the game off.
Colombia had appeals for a penalty waved away early in the second half when Daniel Torres tumbled over the outstretched leg of Gonzalo Jara in the penalty area.
With Real Madrid star James Rodriguez doing his best to take control of the match, Colombia looked lively in attack but were unable to find the final ball to unlock Chile’s defence.
The Colombians’ job became even more daunting in the 57th minute when Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez was sent off, collecting a second yellow for a clumsy challenge on Aranguiz.
Chile almost took an unassailable lead soon afterwards when only a superb diving save by Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina thwarted Erick Pulgar’s close-range header.
Sunday’s final will be the second time Argentina and Chile have met in the tournament. Argentina beat the Chileans 2-1 in their opening Group D earlier this month.
