Colombia will arrive in the United States this summer regarded as the fourth favourites to lift the Copa America trophy, but should more people be keeping an eye on Néstor Lorenzo’s men?
Los Cafeteros are one of the hottest national teams on the planet at present as they are undefeated in 23 matches and have won their last eight in a row.
That continued throughout their pre-tournament friendlies as Colombia hammered both the USA and Bolivia respectively, putting five past America and netting three against their South American counterparts.
Lorenzo’s team also sit third in CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying, winning three and drawing the others after six games. All this makes Colombia dark horses to lift Copa America this summer.
The biggest obstacle in Los Cafeteros’ way of achieving this is their potential run to the final. If things play out on paper as people would expect, the 2001 winners will have to overcome the three other favourites to win the South American tournament for just the second time.
That would make things extra special for the nation and are worth watching throughout the coming month.
Previous Copa America finish
In 2021, Colombia came very close to winning Copa America as it could be argued that Argentina’s Emi Martinez is what stopped them from lifting the trophy for a second time.
Los Cafeteros started the tournament slowly, finishing third in their group with just one win out of four matches, which came during their first match against Ecuador. That created a tough route to the final for Reinaldo Rueda’s team and they almost overcame it.
The quarter-finals pitted Colombia against Uruguay, which they won 4-2 on penalties following a cagey 0-0 draw. Their reward? Argentina, and after working very hard to earn a 1-1 with the eventual champions, the Coffeemakers were knocked out on penalties after some Emi Martinez heroics.
A 3-2 win over Peru in their final game of Copa America 2021 earned them a third-place finish, which is…
Source link : https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/06/17/copa-america-colombia/
Author : Darren Looney
Publish date : 2024-06-17 21:34:41
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