- Dominant display from Colombia sees them through to the knockout rounds.
- Brazil and Paraguay play later tonight to finish matchday two of Group D.
Highlights
- Colombia continued to show why they have high aspirations for this tournament.
- Goals from Luis Diaz, Davinson Sanchez and Jhon Cordoba ensured Los Cafeteros would be the third team to qualify for the Quarterfinals.
- Colombian captain James Rodriguez collected his third assist of the tournament.
Match summary
Colombia had the chance to qualify for the knockout rounds of CONMEBOL Copa América™ after just two matches and Los Cafeteros took care of business.
Nestor Lorenzo’s team, who extended their fantastic unbeaten streak to 25 matches, played a strong Costa Rica side on Friday afternoon at State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona. Los Ticos was coming off an impressive display against nine-time tournament champions Brazil, where they held the Brazilians to a 0-0 draw, while Colombia defeated Paraguay 2-1 in their opening match.
The match kicked off, and it seemed that James Rodriguez was about to open the scoring in the 20’ when he forced Los Ticos goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira into a brilliant diving save. Thanks to the Costa Rican keeper's heroics the score remained 0-0. An impressive feat to keep out the red-hot Rodriguez, who registered two assists in Colombia’s opening game.
Los Cafeteros would break through in the 31’ however, when Jhon Cordoba earned his team a penalty. Luis Diaz stepped up and scored a brilliant penalty, his fifth ever CONMEBOL Copa América goal, tied for third most in Colombia history. The score would remain 1-0 heading into the break.
Into the second half, Costa Rica aimed to be more positive and started to cause Colombia a few more problems. The Colombians kept threatening however, and it seemed Diaz would double his goal tally in the 52’ with some expressive dancing in Los Tico’s penalty area, but Costa Rica managed to block his eventual shot.
They didn’t have to wait long however for more goals to start to fly in.
In the 59’ Davinson Sanchez scored a great header off a corner kick from Jhon Arias to double Los Cafeteros lead. While celebrating, Sanchez ran to the bench to grab and show off the jersey of his injured teammate Jhon Lucumi, who started but was then injured in their first match of the tournament. A wholesome gesture from the center-back.
Three minutes later, Rodriguez would register his third assist of the tournament with a beautiful pass to Jhon Cordoba who would hammer the ball into the Costa Rica net to get Colombia’s third.
Colombia continued to push for a fourth, playing fantastic soccer, but the match ended 3-0. Los Cafeteros qualified for the Quarterfinals and put out a warning to the rest of the team’s that they have high aspirations for this tournament.
While it was a tough loss for Los Ticos, their fate isn’t sealed yet, with a chance of still qualifying for the Quarterfinals alive going into matchday three.
What’s next?
Colombia finishes the Group Stage against Brazil on June 2 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California while Costa Rica and Paraguay will be kicking off at the same time at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Lineups:
Costa Rica: Sequeira; Calvo, Vargas, Mitchell; Lassiter, Aguilera, Galo, Quiros; Madrigal, Zamora; Ugalde
Used substitutes: Campbell, Mora, Brenes, Alcocer, Rojas
Cards: Ugalde (Yellow)
Coach: Gustavo Alfaro
Colombia: Vargas; Munoz, Sanchez, Cuesta, Mojica; Rios, Lerma, Arias; Rodriguez, Cordoba, Diaz
Used substitutes: Uribe, Castano, Asprilla, Borre, Duran
Cards: Rios (Yellow), Cordoba (Yellow)
Coach: Nestor Lorenzo
Goals: 31’, Luis Diaz - Penalty (COL), 59’, Davinson Sanchez (COL), 62’, Jhon Cordoba (COL)
Superior Player of the Match Michelob ULTRA: Luiz Dias
Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)
Venue: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona (USA)
