James Rodriguez was the star for Colombia against Paraguay on Tuesday night.
By Ivan Yeo
Two Colombia teams showed up at the Rose Bowl against Paraguay on Tuesday night.
The Colombia in the first half looked every bit the team that reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup just a few years back. Colombia linked passes together and displayed the flair and personality that made them a formidable team in Brazil in 2014, and those two factors resulted in two first half goals.
The Colombia of the second half resembled the exact opposite, as Paraguay managed to limit Colombia’s chances and thus threw a bit of a scare into Los Cafeteros. Colombia however made sure it’s first half performance stood up, as they secured their spot in the knockout stages of the Copa America Centanario with a 2-1 win.
Colombia was carried as usual by James Rodriguez, who tallied his second goal of the tournament and assisted Colombia’s second goal. James’ performance in addition to being exceptional, also had to be considered a sigh of relief for Los Cafeteros considering his availability for the match was in question due to a shoulder injury sustained in its opening match against the United States last Friday.
Colombia struck 12 minutes into the match, as James Rodriguez’s corner was headed into the back net by Carlos Bacca. Colombia’s second goal however, which occurred in the 30th minute, was reminiscent of its flamboyant style. The play started when Colmobia sent a long ball forward, Bacca made a hesitation move that threw his maker off the scent, Bacca played a ball for Edwin Cardona, who fought off two Paraguay defenders for possession before he played a ball to James, who took a quick touch before he unleashed a left-footed volley that beet Paraguay keeper Justo Villar far post to double Colombia’s advantage.
It wasn’t just the two goals that signified Colombia’s performance in the first half, but more so the flair it displayed that enabled them numerous chances. Two minutes prior to Colombia’s second goal, James had led a Colombia attack which included him nutmegging a defender on his way, and Colombia’s slick passing in the 35th minute enabled Cardona to receive a ball unmarked on the left side of the penalty area, Cardona crossed into the box, but Bacca wasn’t able to control the ball.
However, things changed in the second half, as Paraguay did a more thorough job of closing down the open spaces that Colombia had in the first 45, while Paraguay stepped up its own attack. Paraguay’s persistence paid off in the 71st minute, as Victor Ayala fired a long volley towards goal, Colombia keeper David Ospina at first made a move, but pulled back, perhaps thinking the ball would clear the framework, but the ball instead went in, tucked into the left net, cutting Colombia’s lead to one. Colombia however did just enough to hold off Paraguay, whose chances of salvaging a point took a hit late in the second half when Oscar Romero picked up his second yellow with less than 10 minutes to play.
