Chile, two-time champion of America, gave up its crown on a dark night against Peru, lost its coveted third consecutive Copa America final, and will once again face Argentina, only this time for the third place in the tournament.
Chile thought that Peru's modest performance in the group stage, where they suffered a 5-0 humiliation from Brazil, would continue. But they forgot about the 0-0 draw that Peru managed to get against Uruguay in the quarterfinals, and then defeated them 5-4 in the penalty shootout.
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A major mistake for a team that was starting to resemble the back-to-back champion Chilean team of Sampaoli and Pizzi, and made us think of a face-off in the final against Brazil.
Peru defeated Chile with football, personality, and humility. They ran more than they had throughout the Copa America. They defended valiantly and when they attacked, they did so with fury to knock out their historic archrival.
La Roja can console themselves by competing for third place, a match that the players don't care much about, and 'King Arturo' had the courage to say it without embarrassment.
The thing is that on the other side of the field, at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, will be Messi and Argentina, their victim in the finals where they were crowned champions.
Reinaldo Rueda, the coach of the southern team, mentioned beforehand that Arturo Vidal didn't train normally due to an ankle sprain, but the midfielder will be ready for the match.
Chile would line up against Argentina with Gabriel Arias; Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Guillermo Maripán, Jean Beausejour; Erick Pulgar, Arturo Vidal, Charles Aránguiz; José Pedro Fuenzalida, Alexis Sánchez, and Eduardo Vargas.
Source: AFP