Chile's Mauricio Isla (#4) with teammate Alexis Sanchez (#7) (Photo : Reuters)
Host nation Chile advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 Copa America with a 1-0 win over a nine-man Uruguayan squad on Wednesday.
Juventus right wing-back Mauricio Isla provided the lone goal at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago over the short-handed La Celeste during the 80th-minute mark. Before that, Paris St-Germain striker Edinson Cavani was sent off in the 63rd for flicking the face of defender Gonzalo Jara after an altercation.
Cavani, whose father was arrested after a car accident on Monday, was noticeably affected by the news and was playing out of his spirit during his time on the pitch. Speculations arose before the game that he will leave the Copa to attend to his father, but he opted to stay for this knockout bout.
The match was marred by bad tempers from both squads, although Óscar Tabárez's men are unusually crabby throughout this game. Eight minutes after the goal was scored, left back Jorge Fucile was also sent off for fouling Alexis Sanchez, leaving Uruguay with only nine men remaining on the field.
The contest was delayed for a few minutes after Los Charrúas players encircled the referee and linesman, prompting team officials and the rest of the players to join the commotion. It was a self-destruction for Uruguay, as BBC Sport reported, but cooler heads prevailed in the end.
Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal almost made it a two-goal win near the end, but his shot went wild from just outside the box, as per Daily Mail Online.
La Roja controlled the game with 80% of possessions going their way. They had eight attempts on goal in the first half alone, which made goalkeeper Fernando Muslera busy the entire match.
The hosts will now face the winner of Thursday's Bolivia-Peru quarterfinal match on June 29.
