Oscar Tabarez’s side produced a great defensive display, but it was blatantly undone with the sending-off of Edinson Cavani after 62 minutes. Eventually, Chile’s pressure came off. The ball was calmly worked in from the left flank. Mauricio Isla found himself in enough space to drive home a hot shot from just outside the box to secure a 1-0 victory.
The roar was extraordinary, the noise of 45,000 fans beginning to believe that a 99-year wait for a first Copa America may be coming to an end. Uruguay played with a very high level of discipline as they always do until Cavani who's dad was reportedly jailed in Uruguay for colliding with a motorcycle received a red card for his response to Gonzalo Jara's unseemly provocation.
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Once Isla scored, they disgraced themselves. Three players barged a linesman after he’d flagged for a foul on Alexis Sanchez. A brawl then broke out between the players that dragged on for a couple of minutes. It ended only with the Brazilian referee Sandro Ricci’s decision to send Tabarez from the bench. Jorge Fucile collected a second yellow card for the foul, but, remarkably, no other player was punished. But the not to good end should not be allowed to disguise how well Chile did to overcome a nation that has made a habit of eliminating the hosts. This was an exceptional display from Jorge Sampaoli’s team, not just for its passing or the way it attacked in great waves, but for the mental strength it showed to keep going and not succumb to Uruguay temptation.
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