Rangers star Alfredo Morelos was once again not involved with the Colombia side as they crashed out of the Copa America 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw with Argentina.
Los Cafeteros fell behind early on against La Albiceleste with Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez opening the scoring in the seventh minute following a cutback by Lionel Messi.
Colombia would equalise through FC Porto star Luis Diaz just beyond the hour mark by squeezing the ball in from a tight angle and they hung on to force the tie to extra time despite a host of spurned Argentina chances.
Edwin Cardona would then miss the decisive spot-kick for Colombia with Argentina stopper Emiliano Martínez the hero in the Estádio Nacional de Brasília in Brazil.
The result means that Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has only appeared in one match at this summer’s Copa America so far, the 25-year-old forward’s first-ever international tournament.
Alfie came off the bench for nine minutes in the nation’s 2-1 defeat to Peru in the group stages but being part of a squad that made it this far in the tournament will be a positive experience for the striker.
Morelos may well get one last chance to leave an impression on the tournament with Colombia set to compete in the third-place playoff on Friday in the same ground.
This will be against Peru, who were defeated 1-0 by Brazil in the other semi-final earlier in the week.
The result sets up a date with destiny for Barcelona star Lionel Messi who is entering a pivotal moment in his illustrious career.
Despite an array of spectacular individual and team honours in his career, the 34-year-old is still without an international trophy with Argentina.
If Messi can secure the Copa America it would be a huge monkey off his back and perhaps level him with old foe Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the European Championships with Portugal in 2016.
Rangers striker Morelos is also reportedly a man in demand but one ex-Gers skipper has been told that a move to FC Porto isn’t even “on the table”.
