Colombia - Argentina summary, score, goals, highlights | South American Qualifiers
Colombia - Argentina: live updates
What a win for Colombia!
Colombia had Argentina's number for the full 98 minutes as they kept Argentina at bay for large spells and managed to dominate in all areas.
James Rodríguez set up Mosquera for the first goal after the 20 minute mark with a delightful cross from the left. From then on, the home side packed the middle of the pitch and stopped the world champions from finding space in between the lines.
They attacked with a lot of flair at times and Luis Díaz was a constant threat down the left, helped by James magic on occasion.
Nico González scored after the break following a mistake from James but he made up for it with a sensational penalty that came when Muñoz was brought down.
After the goal went in from the spot, Colombia managed the game superbly well, creating danger until the final whistle.
Cargando...
FULL-TIME!
Colombia take the three points in Barranquilla!
HUGE SAVE FROM DIBU
Muños should have made it three! The defender was all on his own just yards from goal and somehow managed to scuff the shot into the palms of the Aston Villa stopper.
Ríos sticks a leg in on Lautaro and gets a huge cheer from the jubilant crowd as he wins possession.
We're into the final 60 seconds...
Luis Díaz almost has a chance to make it 3 after he finds himself as lonely as the last ever Panda to meet a deep free-kick.
The bounce of the ball made it awkward for the winger and gives Otamendi time to scramble over and halt the danger.
Well, if James does any of that for Rayo Vallecano against Osasuna next Monday, we're in for a treat.
Colombia switch:
OFF: James
ON: Portilla
CHANCE
Lo Celso's whipped free-kick is met by Otamendi, who flashed a header past the far post.
7 added minutes.
Vargas gets a booking for time-wasting.
Dybala, who came on a couple of minutes ago for Enzo, slices a wild effort into Row Z.
OVER THE BAR!
Córdoba's volley is fired into orbit but the ball from James over the top to find the striker peeling away from his marker, yet again, gave me the fizz.
The stretcher golf cart is on for Mosquera, who's holding his face as the driver in a Colombia shirt takes the long way round.
Cheers fill the stands as Mac Alliister's ball over the top runs past Acuña and out of play.
Another stoppage sees another yellow shirt recover instantly from potentially life-threatening injuries.
It's a big chance for Lautaro, who take the ball down before squirming left, right, left, right against a defender, worming his way into the box.
However, he's quickly closed down by a pack of yellow shirts; had he shot half a second earlier, things could have been very different.
Surprise! He's absolutely fine.
And now Camilo Vargas is down.
Argentina are having a spell on the ball, about 45 yards from goal, and Colombia are happy to in let them probe from distance.
In the end, a forced ball over the top sees the move come to the end.
Durán is booked for taking his sweet time to get off the pitch.
Colombia changes:
OFF: Durán, Arias
ON: Córdoba, Castaño
Lautaro Martínez wiggles his hips on the edge of the box, opens a slight gap in the wall and fires a shot towards goal - blocked.
The body language from the blue and white shirts gives off a sense of frustration, with the forwards throwing their arms in the air as the ball is played back to the defence.
Let's see if Gio Lo Celso can be the man to unlock something in front of Colombia's back line.
Another change from Scaloni:
OFF: De Paul
ON: Lo Celso
Water break time!
Lerma robs De Paul in the middle channel and again, that compact defensive unit does the job.
The Colombians break and the ball ends up with Durán, who fluffs an easy shot into the grateful grasp of Dibu Martínez.
20 minutes to go!
The Colombians are in control here as Argentina look out of ideas. The away side are being made to run as Rayo's magician pulls the strings and drags his team up the field.
Shockingly, it turns out they're all absolutely fine and we're rolling again.
We've got anotherstoppage in play as there are 2 Colombians and an Argentina defender on the floor, all more injured than the other.
Jhon Durán was in acres of (offside) space as James' drooping ball landed on his head. The shot went wide but it was good from the side in yellow.
Enzo has dropped into the pivot role as Mac Allister takes up a position in the right channel.
Argentina changes:
OFF: Lisandro, Paredes
ON: Acuña, Mac Allister
A corner from the world champions ends with a bit of pinball inside the box and in the end, after Otamendi, Lisandro and Julián getting touches, the ball ends up out of play.
The pressure is on Argentina to find a break in the Colombia defence, something they have only managed to do so far thanks to a catastrophic mistake earlier in the game.
We're rolling once again. The fiesta is back on in the stands.
There's not stopping penalties when they're smashed into the top corner like that. An unbelievable strike.
GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!
JAMES SCORES!
And it looks like it is James who will step up...
As Muñoz cut back onto his left foot, Otamendi made contact and brought the player down. The contact is minimal but we know how things work nowadays.
PENALTY TO COLOMBIA
After a long look at the screen, the home side have a penalty.
We're still waiting for a decision...
And the referee is going to the screen!
We've got a VAR check for the incident on Muñoz.
And now the shouts come in against the referee as he gives a soft free-kick to Argentina. The tension levels are rising inside the stadium.
Huge screams for a Colombia penalty as Muñoz goes down in the Argentina box. Nothing from señor referee...
Back underway. Romero is OK.
Romero is down again with a head injury.
Back underway and the atmosphere has flipped...
NICO GONZÁLEZ!
It was a huge error from James, whose pass was wayward and allowed González to latch onto the ball before driving forward and sliding underneathVargas.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!!
ARGENTINA ARE LEVEL
Well, if you thought the second half would be calmer than the first, I'd like to politely tell you that you're wrong. We've had 90 seconds of crazy since the restart with not one pass on target.
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY!
Colombia get the ball rolling.
One change for Argentina:
OFF: Montiel
ON: Molina
Here come the players!
Ready to go!
Substitutes warming up...
The fans are waiting for the second half to start (as am I) and we're all questioning whether we'll see any changes from either manager.
A fantastic stat:
"7 of the last 8 goals that Colombia has scored have come from set pieces and James Rodríguez has been involved in 6 of them."
Cargando...
Colombia have been superb...
James Rodríguez has James Rodríguez-d the life out of that game, being decisive without dominating. It seems that apart from dead ball moments he has touched the ball 6 times but they've all been crucial to Colombia's attacking threat.
Luis Díaz is finding way too much space down the left and Durán looks like the most annoying person to stand next to on this side of the globe.
If Colombia keep up the pressure and Argentina can't find a way to close off the spaces, then I could see another goal for the home side before long...
Dare I say my prediction was correct?
The lack of dynamism in the middle of the park from the away side is, in my opinion, a reason why they're struggling so badly against Colombia, who are packing the middle channel off the ball.
While longer switches of play have opened things up for Argentina on occasion, they're not finding the passes in between the lines when moving through towards the final third.
If only they had a number 10, an attacking midfielder who could exist in between the lines... Yes! Dybala, for example.
HALF-TIME!
Colombia are in the driving seat and have been the better team by far.
Argentina are showing more frustration than creativity.
Vargas catches a deep cross from Nico González that's poorly timed and wrongly placed. A tough game so far for the wide man.
Lerma takes down Enzo in the centre circle and the clock ticks towards half-time.
We've got 3 added minutes.
CHANCE!
A good chance for Argentina is stopped by Mosquera. The ball drops kindly to Lautaro at a corner and he spins before firing towards goal, but the defender is there to block the effort.
The second corner comes in and Lautaro slashes a wild effort wide of the goal.
Luis Díaz squirms away from a challenge like a determined rat but his movement was premature down the left and the flag is raised for offside.
Lautaro has his first shot of the game but the volleyed effort is rushed and flies over the bar.
Scaloni wanted more from his forward there, and throws his arms skyward.
The Rayo Vallecano man tries to surprise Dibu by going for goal at the near post, but he smashes his shot high and wide.
Lautaro is late with his leg and sends Durán to the ground on the edge of the box. Here comes James again.
Colombia pile forward and it's Otamendi who spoons away a dangerous cross from the left, sent in by Durán.
Some nice build-up play from Argentina sees Montiel send in a first time cross from the right that lands with Julián Álvarez, but he can't guide his header towards goal.
Argentina have the ball in the middle third and there's definitely a sense of frustration from them as the passing lanes in behind, that are usually so well carved out, just aren't there.
Colombia are comfortable in their defensive shape and their press up front is keeping their opponents at bay...
Lerma chips a cheeky ball over the top of the Argentina defence: Durán is shoved out of the way by Lisandro to allow Martínez to collect.
We're back underway in Barranquilla, and the crowd are in fiesta mode.
A sublime goal from Colombia
I've just checked out a replay of the goal and Nico González allowed Mosquera to have just enough space to bend his legs and leap into the air.
The pass from James was lofted over Dibu's grasp and landed perfectly where he intended it too. Fabulous.
We've got a brief stoppage for a hydration break...
The corner is short before being played back to James, who sends in a simply delicious cross to Mosquera to tap in with his forehead.
GOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!! COLOMBIA
Colombia are ahead!
And there he is: James flicks a sensational pass around the corner and lets Luis Díaz run at lightspeed in behind to connect. Otamendi did superbly well to cover and clear for a corner...
James Rodríguez is yet to get a foot on the ball in between the lines, which are being well patrolled by Argentina's 4 midfielders when they're out of possession.
The first card of the game goes to Montiel who is lucky that's not an orange. Poor Arias felt that one as the defender went flying in high.
Twenty minutes in and we've not seen any clear cut chances in the game, which has been charged with tension and high pressure.
OVER THE BAR!
DePaul goes for glory from the edge of the box but he sees his shot spin wildly above the goal.
Argentina see a promising move break down after Lautaro misreads a pass intended for De Paul, who was overlapping on his right. Colombia regroup.
The magic sponge is brought out for Romero's leg and we're back underway.
It seems that Cuti Romero is suffering from some sort of physical problem. The game has been paused.
A long shot from Ríos is caught calmly by Martínez after Colombia were allowed to play on after a foul earlier in the move. Good refereeing again from Señor Maza.
CHANCE!
Vargas came dribbling out and allowed Álvarez to tackle him on the edge of the box. The angle was tight, however, and the ball rolled agonisingly across goal.
In the end, the decision is probably right.
Julián dived into Camilo Vargas as he came to collect the ball and although the goalkeeper landed on his foot, the foul was already committed.
Argentina come down the right and the move ends with Álvarez on the floor, holding his ankle. However, it seems that the Señor referee has given a free kick the other way.
Corner to Colombia after nice work down the right. You know who set to serve up a cross.
Lucumi meets the ball but he sends a touch header over the bar as every player in the box holds the shirt of an opponent.
The first 'oos' and 'aas' from the crowd come as James whips the ball in from the left; the cross almost meets a leaping yellow shirt but it skims off the hair of Durán and out the other side.
It's a tense opening few minutes, with the nerves clear to see thanks to the raucous fans. We're yet to see a slick passing move from either side.
Argentina get their first touches of the ball but the Colombian press is as sharp as a sushi knife. They win the ball back instantly to roars from the crowd.
It's a 4 at the back for Argentina off the ball, with Lisandro over on the left as Colombia pass around the middle third. No penetration as of yet.
Straight away we can see Paredes in the pivot role with Enzo slightly higher up for Argentina.
James is the sole '10' for Colombia, and is sitting just off the striker.
AND WE'RE OFF!
The ball is rolling in Barranquilla.
Let's see where James ends up...
We're not sure if he'll play alongside Ríos in a more inside midfield role or as a pure number 10 'in the hole'...
National anthem time!
A lovely rendition from the Argentina players, but my oh my, that Colombia anthem nearly shook the stadium to the ground!
Here come the players!
The 22 players, accompanied by what must be 300 children, walk out of the tunnel onto the pitch.
The players are in the tunnel!
High-fives for the expectant mascots from a happy Rodrigo De Paul.
Less than ten minutes to go!
The players have all returned to the dressing rooms for the final team talks before the first whistle!
A reminder of the XIs:
COLOMBIA XI [4-2-3-1]:
GK: Vargas
DEF: Muñoz, Cuesta, Lucumí, Mojica
MID: Rios, Lerma, Arias, James, Luis Díaz
ATT: Durán
ARGENTINA XI [3-5-2]:
GK: Martínez
DEF: Romero, Otamendi, Lisandro
MID: Montiel, De Paul, Enzo, Paredes, González
ATT: Lautaro, Álvarez
The atmosphere is building at El Metro stadium
The home fans are ready for revenge against the team that got the better of them in the Copa América final...
And here's confirmation of the XI:
Better late than never, I guess, from the Colombia twitter manager...
Cargando...
The players are on the pitch!
Don't worry, you're not late, it's just the pre-game warmups.
But what a noise from the home crowd!
COLOMBIA XI:
GK: Vargas
DEF: Muñoz, Cuesta, Lucumí, Mojica
MID: Rios, Lerma, Arias, James, Luis Díaz
ATT: Durán
ELSA / Getty Images via AFP
Three at the back for Argentina?
Montiel is no stranger to playing in a wing-back role for his national team, as we have seen him do at club level.
We could see the away side shift into a back 3 in on-ball moments, as they look to overpower Colombia and dominate in the wide areas.
Whatever the case, Montiel will have to run his socks off in defensive moments as he'll likely have Liverpool's Luis Díaz looking to create havoc down the wing.
It's what we expected from Scaloni...
It's Mac Allister out and Paredes in for the world champions, who will perhaps be a little less dynamic without the Liverpool midfielder but the latter will be able to provide stability in the middle, as well as a lot of bite off the ball.
ARGENTINA STARTING XI:
Martínez; Montiel, Romero, Otamendi (c), Lisandro; De Paul, Paredes, Enzo, González; Julián, Lautaro
Cargando...
The Colombia dressing room is ready!
And I'm glad to see we're getting a clash of two iconic home kits, with Colombia in their famous yellow and the world champions in the classic stripes.
Cargando...
Get involved!
We've got a live poll up and running where you can have your say on how you think the game will go.
It's a tough one to call, that's for certain, but be brave and drop me a score prediction below the line!
Cargando...
Nobody had crowd trouble, Shakira, a Lionel Messi injury and an extra-time winner on their bingo card as Argentina clinched a record 16th Copa América title against the same opponents as today.
A late, late Lautaro goal sealed the continental trophy for the Albiceleste but Colombia did manage to stifle them for long periods and frustrated their opponents with sensational play throughout.
Will Gittins was on the case that day to record all the historic goings on in the most recent Copa América final.
Here's how we think Argentina will line up:
GK: Martínez
DEF: Montiel, Romero, Otamendi, Lisandro
MID: De Paul, Paredes, Enzo, Nico González
ATT: Álvarez, Lautaro
Team news coming up shortly...
We should have news of the two starting XIs within the next few minutes!
This is how Argentina's last game against Colombia ended...
Now, I'm almost certain the celebrations won't be as extravagant as this moment was, but Colombia are no pushovers and Argentina will be more than happy to take three points back home from such a tough away day.
Cargando...
While we wait on the official team news, here's how we expect Argentina to take on their opponents today in Barranquilla.
Scaloni pre-game quotes on Messi:
It is difficult for a team not to depend on Messi in football terms because he is a unique player.
But this team has an idea of the game regardless of who plays. They all play the same way. That helps. When Leo is not here we do the same thing without the finishing touch he has.
Make sure you digest all the streaming info if you're wanting to get the game on your TV or streaming device.
No Messi in Argentina squad:
The Inter Miami forward is still recovering from an injury sustained during the Copa América final (more on that game later).
Despite the lack of an 8-time Ballon d'Or winner, Argentina's squad is still jam-packed with delightful players.
In place of Messi sits Paulo Dybala, who has temporarily taken his number 10 shirt.
Cargando...
ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP
Keep an eye on...
The names Bond, James Rodríguez might be the worst headline ever written in the English media (search online for it), but James Rodríguez has, on plenty of occasions, got people talking about his amazing natural talent.
The Colombian has been raising eyebrows again with his recent performances and was given the MVP of the Tournament award at the recent Copa América.
Those performances led many people to believe that a move to one of Europe's top leagues was on the cards, but nobody expected Rayo Vallecano to be his next team. Yes, the ex-Real Madrid player rocked up at Vallecas and signed a deal that will see him grace the fantastic 3-sided stadium this season in southern Madrid.
For Colombia he's been a shining star in a team full of quality players who give me 'the fizz' and that left foot of his has been magical every time he's put on the yellow shirt.
Colombia are on the way to the stadium!
Here's images of the players making their way onto the team bus from the hotel as they start their journey to the stadium.
Cargando...
Here's how the table looks:
The South American qualifiers for the World Cup are a notoriously difficult set of games, with more historically successful teams regularly stumped by smaller nations due to the difficulty of the league format.
As things stand, Argentina are top of the pops with 18 points from 7 games.
They hold a 4 point advantage over Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay and are 5 ahead of their opponents tonight.
Five-time world champions Brazil are in 4th with just 10 points and they have dark horses Venezuela right up their, ahem, just a point behind.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
BUDA MENDES / Getty Images via AFP
Who's the ref?
Señor Piero Maza is the official tasked with keeping tensions at bay in this huge game today.
The Chilean referee is a seasoned professional and has more than 90 Chilean first division games under his belt as well as almost 30 Copa Libertadores clashes.
He's quite yellow card happy but as for sendings off, they're a lot less likely.
Referee: Piero Maza (CHI)
Assistant 1: José Retamal (CHI)
Assistant 2: Miguel Rocha (CHI)
Fourth official: Cristian Garay (CHI)
VAR: Juan Lara (CHI)
VAR assistant: Benjamin Saravia (CHI)
Tonight's venue!
The Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez hopefully has a shorter nickname but the tongue-twister of a moniker doesn't stop it from being an imposing venue.
With a capacity of 49,000 fans the noise will be sensational as will the show of colour when the fans are finally let inside.
Cargando...
Argentina injury news:
It's full steam ahead for the albiceleste train that can't be stopped at the moment, with Lionel Scaloni's side seemingly still buzzing from their 2022 World Cup win.
However, there have been a few winks and nods that the manager may rotate the side today, so we will have to wait and see...
Colombia injury news:
Carlos Cuestais the only player injured from the squad announced by Néstor Lorenzo.
The Genk player suffered a knock in their previous game, against Peru, and was substituted for Yerry Mina, who will also miss out due to a booking he received in the game.
Welcome!
Hello and a very warm welcome to the AS USAlivefeed of what's sure to be sensational action today.
It's World Cup qualification time and the World champions Argentina have travelled to Barranquilla to take on a Colombia side who are flying high themselves.
It's Joe on duty today to talk you through the action as it unfolds.