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71 min “I’m in New York and watched the first half in a bar with a Colombian crowd,” writes Scott Bassett. “When the goal went in, it was hysterics with shots of aguardiente and the dog at table three barking like mad as her owners hooted and hollered big time. Minutes later when the red was dished out, there was some muttering, but no real protests. I thought the first half was relatively clean, but it’s definitely devolved…
“Question: is it true that at the Euro there’s been a directive that only the captain can approach the ref? I feel like that could come in rather hand in this tourney too…”
There has indeed. Good luck trying that on a night like this, though.
69 min Gimenez is booked for tripping Luis Diaz, who has quietly had a fine game.
68 min A Uruguay player goes flying on the edge of the six-yard box but the referee waves him up. Replays show it was a risible dive by Olivera.
Moments later, De la Cruz’s 20-yarder was comfortably saved by Vargas.
67 min: Uruguay substitution Luis Suarez replaces Guillermo Varela, who only came on the 34th minute.
66 min Nunez rattles the post, though he was offside so it wouldn’t have counted. He did superbly just before that, beating two players and laying the ball back to Araujo (I think). He couldn’t get his shot away and then Nunez, from an offside position, blistered the post.
65 min There’s at least half an hour remaining but the pace and desperation are such that it could be the last five minutes.
63 min Varela is booked for a foul on Luis Diaz. This isn’t really a football match any more. It’s easy to blame the referee for the Rios business but ultimately footballers cry wolf all the time. How’s he supposed to know when the hairy bugger has started tucking into the sheep.
62 min: Colombia substitutions Mateus Uribe and Kevin Cantstandya Castano replace Richard Rios and… James Rodriguez. That can only be because Nestor Lorenzo is worried about Rodriguez being sent off.
61 min We’re still waiting for the game to restart. At this rate there will be at least five hours of injury time.
59 min Rios goes down in the centre circle and the referee calls for a stretcher. This is all a bit of a mess but it does look like he has a significant injury.
58 min Play eventually resumes, at which point James Rodriguez has another heated chat with the referee. Rios limps back on but he’s clearly struggling.
“If it’s an act, it’s a really good act,” says the Premier Sports commentator Paul Dempsey.
56 min I don’t think Rios is faking it, though who knows these days. Anyway, he’s now getting some treatment.
54 min Rios stays down near the corner flag after an awkward challenge from both Nunez and Araujo. The referee has a look at him and then waves play on, with Rios punching the ground in pain. Colombia are effectively down to nine men and James Rodriguez is going ballistic. He’s booked for dissent.
53 min Uruguay are dynamic and hard-working, but they look a bit short of class in attack. Who knows, we might see Luis Suarez, aged 482, at some stage.
51 min: Chance for Colombia! Rodriguez’s outswinging corner is headed wide of the far post from eight yards by the backpedalling Cordoba, with Rochet again in no man’s land. That was a helluva corner from James Rodriguez.
An artist at work. Photograph: Jacob Kupferman/AP51 min Vargas’s long goalkick is headed on by Cordoba towards Diaz, who is just beaten to the ball by Gimenez. Vital defending, and a corner to Colombia.
50 min An errant cross from Maxi Araujo jiggers another Uruguay attack. They are at least getting into some decent positions.
49 min Colombia dominated the ball in the first half; now, out of necessity, they are sitting much deeper. There’s a greater urgency to Uruguay’s play, though a promising move breaks down when Ugarte overhits his cross.
46 min The second half is under way, and the early signs are that Colombia are in the mood to kill some time.
Uruguay have made a double substitution at half-time:
Cristian Olivera and Giorgian de Arrascaeta are on for Pellistri and Mathias Olivera.
Colombia have brought on Santiago Arias for Jhon Arias. If only they had a player called Elbow.
Munoz may have been suckered into that red card by Dennis Wise Ugarte, possibly with a sly pinch. His response was pretty daft, though, a heartfelt elbow to the breastbone.
Daniel Munoz reacts after being sent off against Uruguay. Photograph: Jacob Kupferman/APHalf time: Uruguay 0-1 ColombiaColombia are a goal up and a man down after an impassioned first half in North Carolina. Darwin Nunez missed two excellent chances for Uruguay before Jefferson Lerma headed Colombia ahead from James Rodriguez’s corner.
Daniel Munoz, perhaps Colombia’s best attacker, got carried away and was sent off for two yellow cards, though it’s still not clear whether VAR was used correctly. Colombia are still fuming as they go off at half-time.
45+5 min Cordoba misses an awkward volley over the shoulder, then Diaz’s deflected shot is saved by Rochet.
Munoz is sent off!45+1 min Chaos in North Carolina! Munoz has been given a second yellow and Colombia are going mad. In isolation it’s the right decision – he elbowed Ugarte in the stomach – but I’m not sure about the protocol. Are the VAR team even allowed to recommend a second yellow? That’s clearly what happened.
45 min Ugarte is down after some kind of incident with Munoz, who himself is showing his chest to the referee.
Replays show that Munoz slammed an elbow into Ugarte’s chest; he should have been given a second yellow card for that but it;s probably not enough for a VAR straight red.
44 min: Smart save by Rochet! Uruguay are hanging on for half-time. The relentless Munoz surges into the area and tees up Rios, whose first-time shot is well saved to his left by Rochet.
43 min Marcelo Bielsa is pointedly telling his team to calm down.
It’s a bad moment for the Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet. He came for Rodriguez’s inswinging corner, got nowhere near it and was beaten by Lerma’s downward header. Lerma did really well to get above Gimenez and then force his header just inside the near post. Anywhere else and Rochet would probably have kicked it away.
GOAL! Uruguay 0-1 Colombia (Lerma 39)Jefferson Lerma gives Colombia the lead!
38 min It’s been an odd first half, in that Colombia have played most of the football but Uruguay – specifically Darwin Nunez – have had the two best chances.
36 min “That’s a fascinating clip from the press conference by Bielsa,” says Justin Kavanagh. “You can just imagine the agonies of embarrassment that such statements would cause at most big clubs that have been sanitised against such truths by parades of smiling PR persons. Presumably the Uruguay blazers conduct themselves with the same hard-nosed eh… respect for realism… as their teams have shown down the years. Good on them for letting Bielsa Bielsify.”
34 min: Uruguay substitution Poor Rodrigo Bentancur, who has had such dumb luck with injury, is limping off in distress. He’s replaced by Guillermo Varela, which could mean another change of system.
33 min: Chance for Colombia! Rodriguez whips an inviting cross that is headed miles wide by Cordoba near the penalty spot. He mistimed his header.
31 min Munoz is booked for a tackle from behind on Araujo, then gives the referee a mouthful. This match is starting to descend.
Daniel Munoz takes a shortcut through the back of Maxi Araujo. Photograph: Jacob Kupferman/AP