David Ospina needs to be front and center at Colombia’s next dance-off. The goalkeeper made two fantastic saves against Peru – one in injury time and the other during the penalty shootout – to help book Colombia’s passage to the next round in Copa América Centenario. After a scoreless 90 minutes, the first five penalties were successfully converted. When it came time for Miguel Trauco’s penalty kick, he probably felt good as the shot left his foot because he put it down the middle while Ospina dove to his left. Unfortunately, Ospina’s feet remained close enough to the center so that he could kick the shot away.
Peru had a chance to win late, but Ospina got his hand to the header and forced the game into penalties.
Christian Cueva’s bad penalty miss sealed Peru’s defeat. Ospina gets extra points for his sportsmanship, as he took the time to console Cueva after the miss. The entire Colombian team showed a lot of respect and grace toward Peru, which makes sense since they know this feeling too well. Last year, Colombia lost to Argentina on penalties at Copa América.
Colombia joins the United States in the semi-finals and will play the winner of Chile vs. Mexico.
Ospina’s heroics capped a fun night in front of a crowd that appeared evenly represented by fans of both nations. Seeing the emotion from the players and fans drove home one point: This tournament is awesome AF.
If you’re a Copa America fan in NYC, be sure to RSVP for Remezcla’s ultimate Copa America pre-final party on June 25th. RSVP here for entry.