Manuela Paví and Colombia are through to the Copa América Femenina final following a penalty shootout victory against Argentina on Monday night, in which the West Ham United women’s team winger was on target.
Our No11 was introduced to proceedings on 76 minutes at Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria as the game finished goalless, with Colombia registering more shots on target and dominating possession throughout the 90 minutes.
In the shootout, Colombia took first, and both teams scored their first two penalties, meaning the pressure was on Paví when she stepped up to take her side’s third. But with aplomb, the 24-year-old curled the ball into the top-right corner, releasing every bit of emotion as it found the net.
Subsequently, Katherine Tapia made a superb save to deny Paulina Gramaglia, but Mayra Ramírez crashed her penalty against the bar, levelling the shootout once again.
But Colombia pushed through, scoring their next two penalties, meaning Eliana Stábile’s miss booked Paví’s side a place in their fourth Copa América Femenina showpiece.
Colombia, striving to win the competition for the first time, will face either Brazil or Uruguay at Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria in Quito, Ecuador, on Saturday 2 August (kick-off 10pm BST).
Meanwhile, Camila Sáez’s Chile were beaten in their fifth-place play-off with Paraguay in the early hours of Tuesday morning, suffering a 1-0 defeat at Complejo Independiente del Valle.
The Hammers defender played all of the contest, but her side were beaten in the 92nd minute with a late strike from Camila Arrieta.
