Football World Cup: Colombia continues to impress – soon against Messi and Co.?

When Lionel Messi and Co. played against Algeria at the start of the preliminary round at the Kansas City Chiefs stadium, there were around 40,000 Albiceleste fans dressed in sky blue and white in the impressive arena. During Colombia’s 1-0 (1-0) draw against Ghana in the round of 16, there were almost 40,000 cafetero supporters wearing yellow.

In any case, there would be a state of emergency in the city in the Midwest of the USA if the two South American heavyweights actually played against each other in a new edition of the 2024 Copa América final.

Colombia coach with respect for Switzerland

“The passion of our fans is great. They follow us everywhere. No matter where we play,” said Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo after the victory against a disappointing team from Ghana despite the narrow result.

In the round of 16, Colombia will now face Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday. Argentina plays Egypt in Atlanta on the same day. If both teams live up to their role as favorites, there will be a showdown in Kansas City.

Colombia’s coach Lorenzo didn’t want to look that far ahead. He preferred to warn against the Swiss. “The Swiss are like an oiled machine. It won’t be easy,” said the Argentine, for whom a duel with Lionel Messi and Co. would also be a personal highlight.

Given the form of the tournament so far, the Colombians around Bayern star Luis Diaz don’t stand a chance against the defending champions. Only the exploitation of opportunities is a concern. The South Americans again missed many opportunities against Ghana. A goal from Diaz was disallowed because the German champion’s winger was offside. Diaz had two goals denied in the win against Uzbekistan in the preliminary round.

Diaz proud even without scoring his own goal

“I think we played a great game. We just need to score a few more goals,” said Diaz, who was named player of the game despite his goalless performance. Diaz didn’t care that this time it was Jhon Arias who scored the decisive goal in the 14th minute in front of 69,045 spectators. “We are like a family. Everyone is there for each other.”

This is one of the reasons why Colombia can continue to hope for its first quarter-final since 2014. Twelve years ago, Colombia narrowly failed in the quarter-finals to hosts Brazil, who in turn lost a few days later in the semi-finals against eventual world champions Germany with a legendary score of 1:7.

While the DFB team has been home for a long time this time and is pinning all its hopes on the designated new national coach Jürgen Klopp, they are increasingly believing in the really big coup in Colombia. With the fans behind you, you can achieve a lot, said Diaz. “They give us a lot of strength.”

Weak balance sheet for Africa

Strength that Ghana lacked this time. Veteran coach Carlos Queiroz highlighted the importance for the entire African continent. Nine out of ten teams from Africa made it through the preliminary round. But in the round of 16 it was over early for seven of them – including Ghana. Only Egypt and Morocco made it to the round of 16 with victories over Australia and the Netherlands.