BUENOS AIRES, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Peru reached the semifinals of the Copa America after a 2-0 win on Saturday over favourite Colombia in extra time.

The game took place this Saturday in the "Mario Alberto Kempes" stadium of Cordoba city, 700 kilometers north from Buenos Aires.

Colombia had won their group matches over Argentina while Peru ended up in the third position of the group C behind Chile and Uruguay.

Carlos Lobaton scored the opener at the 101st minute after a big mistake of Luis Martinez, the Colombian goalkeeper with a shot from 18 yards.

Ten minutes later, Juan Vargas sealed the score to 2-0. The Peruvians will face the winner between Argentina and Uruguay in the semifinal next Thursday. The Argentina-Uruguay clash will kick off later Saturday at Santa Fe.

This was the first since 1997 that Peru entered the Copa American semifinals.