Peru stunned defending champions Chile 3-0 to reach the final of the Copa America for the first time in 44 years.
Goals from Edison Flores, Yoshimar Yotun and Paolo Guerrero handed Peru a deserved win which sends them into a final against Brazil at the Maracana Stadium on Sunday.
The stunning upset prevented Chile’s golden generation from challenging for a third straight title, following their wins over Argentina in 2015 and 2016.
Instead the finalists from the previous two editions will meet in Saturday’s third-place play-off in Sao Paulo.
Little was expected of Peru in the knock-out stages after they ended the group phase with a humbling 5-0 thrashing by Brazil.
But after riding their luck — and being saved by VAR three times — to beat Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-final, they were a completely rejuvenated outfit in Porto Alegre.
Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, the villain of that 5-0 defeat, was again faultless, as he had been in the quarter-final when decisively saving Luis Suarez’s shoot-out penalty.
He again saved a penalty and made a number of other vital stops. From the start Peru dominated the reigning champions, Flores took advantage of an Erick Pulgar slip in midfield to dart towards goal but he dragged his weak shot woefully wide.
But a minute later he was alone at the back post to lash home left footed from an Andre Carillo flick on from Cueva’s cross.
Yotun doubled the lead on 38 minutes after punishing Chile goalkeeper Gabriel Arias’s rush of blood to the head.
A 2-0 half-time lead was the least Peru deserved after an enterprising performance against tentative opponents.
Peru should have put the game to bed on a rapier counter-attack on the hour but Guerrero and Cueva passed rather than shooting and Yotun ballooned over from six yards with the goal gaping.
Peru started sitting deeper, inviting Chile to attack and Aranguiz sent a rasping shot whistling past the top corner with Gallese a mere spectator. But Guerrero put the icing on the cake in injury time after rounding Arias, but Gallese had the last word from the penalty spot.