David Ospina saved two penalty kicks as Colombia advanced to the Copa America semi-finals with a 4-2 shootout win over Uruguay in Brasilia on Saturday.
The Napoli goalkeeper dived low to his right to keep out Jose Gimenez’s penalty kick and then leaped to his left to palm away Matias Vina’s attempt at the Mane Garrincha stadium.
The match went to a shootout after a goalless 90 minutes in which neither team posed a clear attacking threat.
With no extra-time played in South America’s major competitions, the match went straight to penalty kicks after 90 minutes.
It paved the way for Ospina and his teammates to atone for their shootout defeat to Chile in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Copa America.
Colombia will face Argentina in the last four on Tuesday while hosts Brazil meet Peru in the other semi-final on Monday.
“They [Uruguay] are tough opponents and we had to work hard to beat them. We know that nobody is going to gift us anything. Now we’re going to rest and start preparing for our next match,” the Napoli goalkeeper added.
Veteran Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani said the Celeste were satisfied with their performances throughout the tournament, in spite of the unhappy ending.