Chile beat Colombia 2-0 in the Copa America semi-final on Wednesday and will face Argentina in Sunday's final after surviving a tumultuous match in Chicago.
Argentina shrugged off the injury absence of Lionel Messi to launch their Copa America Centenario campaign with a 2-1 defeat of defending champions Chile in Santa Clara, United States on Monday. Goals from Angel Di Maria and Ever Banega secured a deserved three points for Argentina, who exacted sweet revenge for their defeat to the Chileans in last year's Copa America final. Chile substitute Jose Fuenzalida scored an injury time consolation for the holders. The Argentines will now be firm favorites to progress to the quarter-finals as Group D winners with games against Panama and Bolivia to come. Injured Argentina captain Messi watched from the substitutes' bench at Levi's Stadium after failing to recover in time from a sore back suffered in a friendly win over Honduras last month. But the Barcelona superstar's absence was barely noticeable, with Nicolas Gaitan slotting into Argentina's attack and making an instant impression, hitting the woodwork with a header after only two minutes.