The host Colombia just beat Argentina and is the first finalist in the women’s Copa América.
At just 17 years old, the young Linda Caicedo scored the goal on Monday with which Colombia beat Argentina 1-0 and qualified for the final of the Women’s America Cupto the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
In the semifinal played at the Alfonso López stadium in the Colombian city of Bucaramanga, the coffee growers beat some rivals who did not have their best day and will now play direct qualification for the World Cup in the match for third place, in the who will face the losers of the Brazil-Paraguay duel.
With this result, Colombia will play its third World Cup following having participated in Germany 2011 and Canada 2015, as well as his third Olympics, having gone to London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The Argentines, led by Germán Portanova, took control in the first few minutes thanks to the good work of their trident in midfield: Daiana Farfán, Romina Núñez and Florencia Bon Segundo.
Precisely the first opportunity came at minute 3 in a play in which Núñez was hand in hand with Colombian goalkeeper Catalina Pérez, who managed to deflect the ball and send it to the corner kick to prevent her rivals from celebrating.
The hosts, meanwhile, appealed to the strong game and they were imprecise in the delivery, they had many difficulties to approach the opposing area with danger.
Although Argentina lost clarity, it had its second chance to score in a very quick play in which Yamila Rodríguez took advantage of a lack of concentration by central defender Jorelyn Carabalí and enabled Estefanía Banini, who took a very strong shot at 16 that made the goalkeeper Pérez appear once more.
Rodríguez, a Boca Juniors player, was an incessant headache and wreaked havoc on Colombian soil, although at times she looked very lonely.
The locals began to balance the game at the hands of the youthful Caicedo, who began to be unbalanced with her mobility and how difficult it was to find in the attack front for those who marked her.
Precisely she had the first opportunity of the hostesses in a heads up in which Leicy Santos left her and in which his shot was saved by Vanina Correa.
???? Colombia defeated Argentina by the minimum and is the first finalist of the CONMEBOL Women’s Copa América 2022 ????????????????????#CAF | #VibraElContinent pic.twitter.com/87Z2yBRWEl
– Copa America (@CopaAmerica) July 26, 2022
Colombia continued to do damage and had another chance to score, this time with Mayra Ramírez who received in the area, undid with a turn of two rivals and took a bitten shot that crashed on the horizontal.
For the complementary stage, the hosts maintained the momentum with which they closed the first half and continued to attack under the baton of Santos.
La Albiceleste, meanwhile, lost the leading role it had in the first few minutes and only managed to get close to Pérez’s goal with a mid-range shot by Bon Segundo that the Colombian goalkeeper saved without problems.
In this context, the annotation of the premises arrived, since the winger Mónica Ramos sent a center that, following a failed attempt to reject a central defender, It came to Caicedo, who received, got rid of a rival and took a left foot shot that was impossible to stop for Correa at 63.
The match became increasingly difficult for those led by Portanova, who did not find depth and were left with 10 players on the court at 73 when right back Gabriela Chavez was sent off for double warning.
The coffee makers maintained their dominance, continued to attack and even came close to increasing the difference. However, the 1-0 was enough to secure qualification for the final, in which they will seek their first Copa América title on Saturday in Bucaramanga once morest the winner of the duel between Brazil and Paraguay.
