Jhon Cordoba, James Rodríguez and Luis Díaz scored goals in a convincing first half as Colombia secured a 5-0 win over Panama in the Copa America quarter-finals on Saturday.
Colombia, who were unbeaten in 26 games on Saturday, were never outdone at number 27 when a well-placed header from Cordoba found the bottom corner of the net in the eighth minute after a corner from Rodríguez.
Less than 10 minutes later, Los Cafeteros took a 2-0 lead thanks to a powerful penalty from Rodríguez.
Colombia were awarded the penalty after Panamanian goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera brought down Colombian Jhon Arias, who tried to prevent the ball from going wide of the post.
Colombia made it 3-0 in the 41st minute when Díaz lobbed a shot over Mosquera, who had surged forward during the break. The goal was set up by another good pass from Rodríguez.
Liverpool’s Luis Diaz was among the goalscorers as Colombia beat Panama in Arizona
Colombian striker Jhon Cordoba opened the scoring early in the match with a close-range header
Veteran playmaker James Rodriguez doubled Colombia’s lead from the penalty spot
Diaz collected a perfect pass from Rodriguez before chipping the keeper before half-time
Diaz and Colombia will now play the winner of the match between Brazil and Uruguay
Panama had a few good chances to score in the first half, including a shot that bounced off the post before being cleared out of the danger zone by Colombian goalie Camilo Vargas, but Los Canaleros were unable to extend their lead.
Colombia scored their fourth goal in the 70th minute when Richard Ríos fired a long right-footed shot past Mosquera into the bottom left corner of the net. The final goal came in injury time when Miguel Borja converted a penalty.
Colombia will play the winner of Uruguay-Brazil on Saturday in the semi-finals in Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday.
The Colombians, who are considered heavy favorites, enjoyed a large home advantage in front of a crowd of 39,740 at State Farm Stadium, with most fans wearing the team’s bright yellow uniforms.
The stadium’s retractable roof was closed as temperatures outside hovered around 46 degrees Celsius.
Panama’s unexpected breakthrough to the quarterfinals included a 2-1 victory over the United States during the group game.