Manuel Ugarte celebrates after scoring the game winning penalty to push Uruguay into the semifinals of the 2024 Copa America tournament. | Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
A numerical look at the second semifinal match of this year’s Copa America tournament
There would be a valid argument to suggest that when Uruguay battles Colombia for a chance to make the final of the 2024 Copa America tournament, it’ll be one of the most evenly-matched competitions of any that has transpired so far.
The path for the Uruguayans wasn’t as paved as it was for Colombia, but still impressive. Uruguay vaulted its way into the semifinal with a 2-0 defeat of Brazil, while Colombia trounced Panama, 5-0 in its quarterfinal showing.
Both teams will put it all on the line inside the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday (8 p.m., FS1, Univision), with Colombia looking to get back into a final since winning it all in 2001 and Uruguay seeking its first finals appearance since 2011.
Those are just some of the numbers that tell the tale of this true South American clash ahead of the CONMEBOL finale.
Here are a few others:
2: Marcelo Bielsa is the second coach in this year’s Copa America semifinal to have coached English club Leeds United. Bielsa was the manager at Leeds from 2018-22, only to have been succeeded by Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch who coached Leeds out of the championship during the 2021-22 season, becoming head coach in 2022, but was let go in Feb. 2023, less than a year after taking the role.
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Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa speaks ahead of his CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 semifinal clash against Colombia on Wednesday, July 10.
5: The number of wins for Uruguay in this competition, conceding just one goal in over that span in a 3-1 win over Panama in their Group C match-up.
10: That is the jersey number of Colombian legend James Rodriguez, who has been putting his stamp all over this tournament. Rodriguez has had a hand in either scoring or providing the assist on five Copa America goals, an according to CONMEBOL is just the second player since statistics became available in 2011 on this feat to do so.
15: The number of times Uruguay has won a Copa America title, the last time coming in 2011. Since then, the nation hasn’t been able to make a semifinal appearance, bowing out in the quarterfinals the last three times around.
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Colombian striker James Rodriguez celebrates his goal against Panama on July 6. Rodriguez has had a hand in five of Colombia’s goals in Copa America.
27: The number of games unbeaten for Colombia. You’d have to go back two years for the last time the Colombian senior men’s team lost an international match, it was a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Argentina.
120: The number of minutes plus stoppage time Uruguay kept a formidable Brazil team at bay, even being down to 10 men after a second-half red card to Nahitan Nandez.
253: That’s the going rate on the secondary market for tickets to this game. At the time of this report, that was still the going rate for a seat in the 500 (uppermost) level of Bank of America Stadium. Most expensive? We found a front row seat in section 130 right behind the benches, but it’ll run you about $3,308. However, there are still good lower level seats around, we found five listings in section 121 right behind the goal for $375 a ticket.
If you plan to be in attendance, happy hunting.
