Jefferson Lerma's goal in the 39th minute turned out to be a match-winning one as Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 in the second semifinal of Copa America to book a title clash with their South American neighbours Argentina.
It proved to be a hard-fought win for Colombia as they played a player short during the entire second half after their defender Daniel Muñoz was handed his second yellow card in the first-half stoppage time.
The win has helped Colombia extend their unbeaten streak to 28 games - their personal team record. Their previous longest unbeaten streak of 27 games came between 1992-94.
James Rodriguez had a crucial role to play in the win as he perfectly executed a corner kick which was headed by Lerma straight into the net. Lerma scored his third international goal and the second of the ongoing tournament.
Rodriguez justified the praise lavished on him by Colombia's manager Nestor Lorenzo. In the lead-up to the semifinal against Uruguay, Lorenzo had emphasized on giving more minutes to the star on the pitch to showcase his skills.
"(Rodríguez) is engaged, committed and the possibility of adding minutes for a great player, that means he's going to have an opportunity to show everything he knows," Lorenzo said in a pre-match press conference via a translator. "If he plays fewer minutes, he's going to have fewer chances. I believe that every time, every club he's been to.
"Because just imagine that I've been following him since I took over. In Qatar, Greece, Brazil, every time he's played, he has shown the quality he's had, but he's played little and we need him to play more and that's why he needs to add more minutes."
Argentina are looking to win their 16th Copa America title as they gear up to meet Colombia at Miami Gardens, Florida.
