Copa América: Lerma guides 10-man Colombia past Uruguay | Copa América

Colombia beat Uruguay 1-0 in the Copa America semi-final on Thursday despite being down to 10 men before halftime.

A header from Jefferson Lerma set up the title-deciding match against defending champions Argentina.

Uruguay’s Darwin Nunez missed several chances in the first half and Colombia paid him a painful farewell in the 39th minute when Lerma leapt over the defence to head James Rodriguez’s corner kick over goalkeeper Sergio Roche.

Colombia were reduced to 10 men just before half-time when Daniel Muñoz lost his cool and was sent off. The right-back picked up a second yellow card for elbowing Manuel Ugarte in the chest.

Uruguay dominated possession in the second half and veteran substitute striker Luis Suarez nearly equalised when he hit the post, but Colombia held on bravely to secure a classic win and set up a place in Sunday’s final against Argentina.

Uruguay was set to face Canada in the third-place playoff the previous day when Uruguay players got into an altercation with Colombian fans in the final minutes of the match.