Brazil – Colombia: the first truly important match of the 2024 Copa America. What made it even cooler was the intrigue: the Brazilians only needed a win to finish first in the group. But the Colombians were happy with the draw. First place is strategically important: no one wanted to go to the quarter-finals against Uruguay. And second place brought it to him.
Brazilian coach Dorival Junior did not rotate the squad much compared to the Paraguay game. There was only one change: Raphinha returned to the starting line-up in place of Savio. The Brazilian national team leader, Vinicius Junior, was there. It seemed that there was no option not to let him go, even though the winger was on a yellow card. And what did he do at the start of the game? Of course I received a warning. Already in the 7th minute he overcame and hit James Rodriguez in the face. Referee Jesus Valenzuela showed a yellow card, so Vinicius will miss the quarter-finals. Problem. And Gámez, by the way, made a great shot on that free kick that crashed into the crossbar.
The first half of the match is rude. Or even cruel. The teams mercilessly hit each other’s legs. Apparently, they checked MMA before the match. Due to frequent fouls, the referee awarded free kicks. And from one of them Brazil opened the scoring. In the 12th minute, Rafinha shot from distance: the ball went into the Colombian goal from the hands of goalkeeper Camilo Vargas. Beauty!
Rafinha after the goal
Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
But a few minutes later the Colombians scored a goal back. Of course, the moment came after the standard. After a foul. James crossed the free kick towards the Brazilian goal and defender Davinson Sanchez successfully headed the ball. Only the referee, after communicating with the VAR room, did not count the ball. True… The spectators could not check that they were offside. At first we were given an offside signal for another player. And in the second replay they showed an image behind the goal, just for a couple of seconds. What can you see there? South American journalists immediately took to social media. Both Brazilians and Argentines. Many felt that Sanchez was not offside. All in all, a mixed episode.
Controversial offside for Colombia
Photo: OKKO broadcast frame
What was left for Colombia? Of course, they went ahead and scored. Néstor Lorenzo’s team looked better, creating a few more chances. Although both teams were often hampered by rudeness: due to frequent fouls, the game was fragmented. During the first half, the referee issued four cautions, although there should have been more. He seemed to be afraid of overdoing it with the yellow card, otherwise the teams would end up playing the game in a nine-on-nine format. After a few mistakes, it was painful to watch them on the field: players openly collided with each other. Vinicius, after one of the fouls on himself, repeated Neymar’s mythical “tumbleweed” from the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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It was hot at the end of the half. In the 43rd minute, Vinicius was brought down in the Colombian box. Daniel Muñoz rolled under the control of the Brazilian leader. On the replay it looked like it was a pure penalty. There was no contact between the Colombian defender’s leg and the ball, but there was contact with the Brazilian’s leg. Referee Valenzuela spoke to the VAR, but for some reason he did not go to see the replay. Another highly controversial decision by the Venezuelan referee. Curiously, the referee finally blew the whistle for a corner, even though the ball in the episode went far from Vinicius.
Collision in Colombia’s penalty area
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
And in the second minute of added time, Colombia equalised. Which side did they score from? Ironically, Daniel Muñoz! Gámez passed to John Córdoba in the penalty area, the Krasnodar striker drew three opponents, but managed to make a beautiful pass. And Muñoz calmly scored in Alison’s goal. 1:1 – a goal with the participation of a representative of the RPL. The first half was fun. It had everything: goals, fights, controversial decisions, beautiful moments.
John Córdoba gave an assist in the match against Brazil
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
The second half started as if other teams had entered the field: with a minimum of fouls and no dangerous moments. I remember rather the episode before the restart of the match, when Dorival Junior gestured to the referee to show him the VAR monitor and asked him to keep an eye on it if something happened. This probably has something to do with the Vinicius moment.
The first dangerous moment of the half came only in the 58th minute: Rafinha took a free kick and the ball flew close to the post. Brazil needed a goal, but Colombia looked better. The flashbacks went back to the first round, when the Brazilians were unprincipled by Costa Rica. Not even the substitution at half-time helped, when Andreas Pereira replaced number 10 Lucas Paquet.
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And the Colombians were closing in on their second goal. Halfway through the half, James produced a great moment: he launched the ball into the box, where Córdoba headed under the crossbar. Alison, fortunately for the Brazilians, was present. Dorival Junior continued his tactical torment. In the 73rd minute, he brought on Savio for Rodrigo, as well as Ederson (the Atalanta midfielder, not the goalkeeper) for João Gomes. Brazil controlled the match, but without much progress. Any attempt to pass forward ended in an interception, with no sophisticated thinking.
At first, Colombia defended successfully and maintained the desired score. And then they went ahead. Dinamo midfielder Jorge Carrascal, who came on to replace James, missed a great opportunity: he received the ball in the box after a rebound, but shot too badly (although nobody prevented him from doing so). And a couple of minutes later Rafael Borré had a deadly moment. A pass was passed to him from the left flank, the Colombian striker found himself completely alone in the box and… The ball hit the turf and flew over the crossbar. Borré missed.
Jorge Carrascal in action against Brazil
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
It was already too late for Dorival Junior to release Endrik. Only in the 86th minute did Brazil have a real centre-forward on the field. What could the 17-year-old striker achieve during this time? The match ended in a draw. Although Andreas Pereira shot well in extra time, goalkeeper Vargas deflected it. And the Brazilians demanded a penalty at the end of the match after Marquinhos fell in the Colombian penalty area. But there did not seem to be any violation there. Although Dorival Junior actively expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee after the final whistle.
Colombia played a great game, getting the desired result and showing good football. But again there are questions for Brazil. And a lot. For every successful game against Paraguay, there are two failures with Costa Rica and Colombia. The Brazilians have a tough test ahead of them in the quarter-finals. They will face Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay. Without the suspended Vinicius Junior… something big is coming! And Colombia, who finished first in the group, will play Panama in the quarter-finals. Are we looking forward to Cordoba and Carrascal in the Copa semi-finals?
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