Liverpool Star Luis Díaz Can Lead Colombia To The Copa América 2024

On Saturday, Colombia smashed the U.S.A in a pre-Copa América friendly just outside Washington D.C. The final score was 5-1 to the South American side who have one of their most exciting teams for many years.

Colombia are the most consistent side in international football at the moment. They hold the longest active unbeaten run on the planet having now gone 22 international games without defeat since a loss to Argentina almost two and a half years ago.

Colombia are also the only unbeaten side in six rounds of South American World Cup qualifying. They hace conceded just three goals in six qualifiers and in their last seven games in all competitions they have seven wins, including victories over Spain and Brazil. Perhaps they haven’t been more ready for a Copa América title bid since they won it at home in 2001.

Their group fixtures are:

Paraguay, June 24th in Houston

Costa Rica, June 28th in Phoenix

Brazil, July 2nd in Santa Clara

Liverpool winger Luis Díaz has been great at club level, but on the international scene he has been an inspiration, taking his game to another level at times. Dazzling dribbling and last minute winners have turned him into the talisman of Colombian football over the last couple of years. A brace against Brazil last November earned a famous qualifying victory in Barranquilla.

At the Copa America in 2021 Díaz really burst onto the international scene. He scored four goals at the tournament, with only Lionel Messi managing the same. An acrobatic effort against Brazil was followed by a semi-final equaliser against Argentina and a brace in the third-place game which saw Colombia win in stoppage time against Peru.

However with this current crop of players, you get the feeling that Díaz has a more talented team around him, and this isn’t just a one-man band. In recent times talents like right-back Daniel Muñoz of Crystal Palace have emerged. As well as midfielder Richard Ríos of Palmeiras and defender Jhon Lucumí of Bologna.

One James Rodríguez has had a bit of a renaissance on the international stage with impressive recent cameos, and young talents like Yáser Asprilla and Jhon Durán, who are both aged just 20, have shown some magic at club level and bring a crucial slice of back-up pace and talent to the Colombia attack.

After making the trip to the U.S and smashing the tournament hosts 5-1 to extend their unbeaten run, the mood in the Colombia camp is fantastic. Colombia’s Argentinian coach Néstor Lorenzo, who played in the 1990 World Cup final, will be quietly confident but is managing expectations in the media.

“We are doing well, but we will take things game by game. I don’t think we will be favourites, Argentina and Brazil are really big teams.” He said after victory against the U.S.

Colombia are both on the wrong side of the draw and in the wrong group for an “easy” run to glory, however. They will likely have to beat Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina if they want to win this trophy and that would be one hell of a task for any team. They could even beat Brazil in the group stage and then have to play them again in the semifinals anyway. Ouch. Big game after big game would be a huge mental and physical test for this talented but relatively inexperienced Colombia outfit.

That aside, rarely has Colombia gone into a Copa believing that they are one of the top contenders, and form dictates that they are definitely one of the teams to beat this time around. Their 2001 triumph is the one and only time they have ever lifted the Copa América trophy but more history can be written by this flourishing new generation of talent.