The hottest national team in the world puts that title on the line against the surprise team of the Copa América when Colombia and Panama meet Saturday in the quarter-finals.
By Jon Arnold
With a 1-1 draw against Brazil to close out the group stage, Colombia not only clinched the first place in Group D but also extended their undefeated run to 26 matches. That stretches all the way back to the 2022 World Cup qualification cycle, as the Cafeteros missed out on qualifying for the finals in Qatar. A return to the sport’s biggest stage is the aim of manager Nestor Lorenzo, but first the focus is on trying to lift the Copa América for the first time since their 2001 title won on home soil.
James Rodríguez throwing it back to the glory days of 2014 undoubtedly has been one of the biggest keys to making this Colombia team feel unbeatable. He had three assists in the group stage, and is creating for a rotating cast of forwards and wingers, many of whom also are comfortable connecting passes in their attacking third.
Panama beat the United States and Bolivia to finish second in Group C and get to this point, but they had to weather some absences to do so. That will continue Saturday, as Panama are missing lynchpin midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla after an additional game was added to his red-card suspension stemming from a sending off in the second group match.
The Central Americans went into the tournament without veteran midfielder Anibal Godoy and saw injuries to Andrés Andrade and Fidel Escobar dent their depth at centre- back – though it has allowed for a breakout tournament by Edgardo Fariña.
During the tournament, winger Jose Luis “Puma” Rodriguez was lost to injury as well. Édgar Bárcenas now shoulders an even heavier load when it comes to creating, though a pair of goals from forward José Fajardo has made his life easier.
Despite being neighbours, coming from different confederations means meetings between Panama and Colombia have been relatively infrequent, with the majority of their contests coming in the Bolivarian Games of the 1950s and 1960s. The teams did clash twice in official action in the 2005 Gold Cup, with Panama getting two of its four wins in the series on the way to the final, though that was an alternative Colombia side.
This time, both teams will put the best on the field possible, looking to book their spot in a semi-final against the winner of Brazil and Uruguay. A Panama win would be a shock from a team that keeps shocking. A Colombia win would be a victory from a team that keeps winning. Something has to give.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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