Colombia sneak past Argentina in football thriller to claim spot in the final

It was all to play for at the end of full-time, as Colombia met Argentina in a highly anticipated semifinal clash at Copa América Femenina 2025 on Monday, 28 July, with a berth to the finals, a spot at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and an Olympic quota place all awaiting the eventual winner.

Perhaps it was fitting, then, for a match with so much stake to come down to a single moment; a single kick from the penalty spot, with Argentina’s Eliana Stábile as the protagonist.

With all the suspense in the world behind the 31-year-old from Buenos Aires, she stepped up to the mark and fired off a screaming shot. It went high and to the right, deflecting off the crossbar and away from the net.

Colombia was on their way to a second-consecutive final at Copa América Femenina, obtaining a quota place for the Olympic Games LA28 in the process.

"We are finalists and we qualified for the Olympics in Los Angeles, that was our objective,” stated Colombian goalkeeper Katherine Tapia. “We are prepared for the final."

Her statement might have felt out of place if given at half time during the nail-biting semifinal match at IDV Stadium in Quito, Ecuador, when it seemed as though Colombia might fall to the equally tenacious and hungry Argentinian side.

A shot early in the match, taken by Yamila Rodríguez, seemed to indicate a favourable direction of possession for Argentina, but Colombia rebounded and created a few goal-scoring opportunities of their own.

The match remained tied at 0-0 heading into the second half, with Colombia now in a full attack mode. However, try as they may, Las Chicas Superpoderosas couldn’t find the back of the net.

A contested play deep into extra time would ultimately be Colombia’s last chance to find the back of the net in regular time, but a hand ball cost them any potential goal-scoring opportunity and sent the match directly to penalty kicks.

Both teams sunk their first two shots to leave the score level, but a save by Colombia’s Tapia gave her side the edge after the third volley of penalty kicks.

A miss by Colombia’s Mayra Ramírez opened the door to Argentina during the fourth volley of shots.

Both teams remained equal through the fifth round of kicks, before Stábile’s miss in the sixth volley of kicks handed the win to Colombia.

The victory served as both a wake-up call and a sigh of relief for the immensely experienced side, who took the weight of major tournament qualification off their backs, while guaranteeing a final showdown against either Brazil or Uruguay on Saturday, 2 August.

As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Olympic Games LA28 depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at LA28.

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