Three games, three ovations. Once again, James Rodriguez pulled the strings for the unbeaten Colombia, who earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Brazil, extended a two-year unbeaten streak under Néstor Lorenzo and confirmed first place in their group in the first high-flying match at the Copa América in the United States. The Colombians won the prize of avoiding Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay in the quarterfinals, where they will face Panama on Saturday, while the five-time world champions will face the Charrúas.
Colombia, a well-oiled and supportive team, has responded to the relative favoritism that precedes it in its first big challenge against one of the three historical giants of the continental tournament – Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, which is on the other side of the draw. Lorenzo deployed a lineup without surprises, almost identical to the one that beat Costa Rica 3-0 the previous day, with the weight of the attack on the shoulders of James and Luis Díaz, its other great figure, accompanied up front by John Córdoba – who took Rafael Santos Borré’s place –. The only change was the entry of Deiver Machado, from French Lens, at left back for Johan Mojica, from Spanish Villarreal.
Brazil is Brazil, even in its most faded versions. Lorenzo had already warned, very respectfully, before the expected duel: “You are never the favourite against Brazil.” At the start, a nervous Colombia accumulated unnecessary fouls and lost the ball, while the intense sun that bathed the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara made it difficult for goalkeeper Camilo Vargas to see. James asked for the ball, and even took splinters from Alisson’s post with a long-distance free kick, after Vinicius Junior slapped him in the face. The Real Madrid winger saw a yellow card that will prevent him from playing in the quarterfinal match with Uruguay, while on the other side Jefferson Lerma, also cautioned, will miss the duel with Panama.
Brazil continued to be sharp. A shot by Bruno Guimaraes from the edge of the area forced Vargas to stretch in an action that was the prelude to the goal of the game. selection. James committed a foul on the rebound from the corner kick, which Rapinha – the only new addition to Dorival Júnior’s eleven, replacing Savinho – executed perfectly, rendering the effort of the Mexican Atlas goalkeeper useless, as he barely managed to get a hold of the ball. For the first time in this Copa América, Colombia was at a disadvantage.
The goal of the greenyellow It was the best remedy for the nervousness of the tricolor – who wore an unusual black uniform instead of the traditional yellow, blue and red. James, the number ten and captain who also appeared as a false nine, insisted with a volley that went over after 15 minutes. The Colombians tilted the field with personality, despite the occasional incursions of Vinicius, who was very difficult to contain. Another free kick from James to the heart of the area ended in a header at goal by Davinson Sánchez, who had already scored in that way against Costa Rica. The slow review by the VAR ended up confirming that the Galatasaray centre-back was offside.
James, the soul of this Colombia, was everywhere. He doubled up with another long-range left-footed shot, one more, to try to surprise Allison, who came out of his goal. The goalkeeper corrected without too much anguish and then saved another attempt by Lucho Díaz, his teammate at Liverpool. Colombian persistence paid off in the next play, before the break, when Córdoba pivoted and filtered a pass to Daniel Muñoz, the right-back of Crystal Palace who with his national team attacks like a winger and secured the draw. It was the second goal in the Cup for the player who has the most starts under Lorenzo: 17 in those 23 games without defeat. He had scored against Paraguay in the debut (2-1).
In a back-and-forth second half, Rapinha came close to repeating with another curling free kick, while Colombia held onto the ball and created danger for Allison, who was very active throughout the match. Lorenzo corrected the game at half-time with Mojica replacing Machado, who was also cautioned, and for the last 15 minutes he sent on Mateus Uribe and Santos Borré to replace Ríos and Córdoba. He also took off James shortly after, who was once again applauded in North American stadiums, to make way for Carrascal. Colombia could have won it at the end with a deflected shot from Borré, although Vargas also flew past a shot from Andreas Pereria to preserve the draw in the last gasp. “It’s normal that as the games go by you get exhausted,” said a worn-out James at the end, satisfied with the result. Colombia’s first mission is accomplished.
Lorenzo’s men lead Group D with seven points, followed by Brazil with five. Costa Rica, who say goodbye with a victory over Paraguay (2-1), were eliminated with four, as were the Guaranis, who are bottom without any points after accumulating three defeats.
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