Defeats hurt and Colombia’s, due to the way the match against Bolivia played out, even more so. Néstor Lorenzo’s team remained undefeated in the qualifying rounds in El Alto, but is still in the qualifying zone.
According to the criteria of
There were 10 games that Colombia went without losing in the qualifiers: the last two of the failed route to Qatar 2022, victories against Bolivia and Venezuela that were not enough to reverse the situation, and the first eight of the 2026 World Cup.
“In principle, with the frustration that a defeat means. A situation where the team played a large part with an extra man and made it count, we were dominant in the game and in the arrivals but we could not achieve it. They had one in the second time and they made it happen and we had many and we couldn’t,” Lorenzo said.
This is how the accounts are for Colombia: there are still savings
The outlook, however, remains favorable for Colombia thanks to the savings of the first days. For now, it is second in the table, with 16 points, waiting for what Uruguay does on Friday during its visit to Peru in Lima.
Colombia also benefits from the fact that theoretically direct rivals did not win on this date. Like Ecuador, which did not go beyond a draw against Paraguay in Quito (0-0) and was left with 12 points, four behind Lorenzo’s team. It should be remembered that the Ecuadorians were deducted three points due to a Fifa sanction.
Argentina was not far behind either, as they could not get past a draw as a visitor against Venezuela in Maturín (1-1).
The fact that there are six direct places and that the seventh goes to the playoffs also helps Colombia. According to the historical averages of sixth and seventh in the ten-team playoffs, 24.6 points are needed to reach the last place without stops. In white silver, 25.
Colombia would have 9 missing and five games left at home, against Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru. With three wins, classification will be assured.
The 2026 World Cup spot is not at risk, for now. But this Thursday’s defeat does leave signs for the team to take corrective measures, especially in finishing, the great Achilles heel that cost them the elimination of Qatar.
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