LONDON — It took 99 years, but finally Chile can stop living in the shadows of its neighbors, now that it has won the Copa América.
With a last and deceptively nonchalant penalty kick from Chile’s Alexis Sánchez, the host nation ended two hours of an embattled stalemate against Argentina on Saturday. Those in the stadium in Santiago erupted in relief, and then joy spread throughout a country that shares a 3,000-mile border with Argentina.
After 173 games in the Copa, Chile is the champion of South America. Penalty kicks are often a soulless way to decide a soccer game, let alone an entire tournament, but that will not matter one bit to Chileans.