James Rodriguez provided his sixth assist of the tournament, leading 10-man Colombia to a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday. This win sets up a Copa América final against Argentina, though the night ended in chaos as players clashed with fans.
Argentina had secured their place in Sunday’s final in Miami Gardens, Florida, by defeating Canada 2-0 in the first semifinal on Tuesday.
Colombia’s victory extended their unbeaten streak to a team-record 28 games, dating back to a loss to Argentina in February 2022.
The contentious match saw seven yellow cards and one red card issued. At the final whistle, players from both teams were involved in a scuffle on the field. Darwin Núñez and about a dozen Uruguay teammates then entered the stands as fans brawled, with a video capturing Núñez hitting a fan in Colombian team colors.
Jefferson Lerma scored the decisive goal in front of a fervent, overwhelmingly pro-Colombia crowd of 70,644 at Bank of America Stadium, heading in a deep corner from James in the 39th minute.
James becomes the first South American player to record six assists in a single major tournament since Pelé did so for Brazil at the 1970 World Cup.