Colombia got sweet revenge for their defeat in the Copa America 2024 final when they defeated defending World Cup and South American champions Argentina in the eighth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America.
Meeting again not long after the infamous Copa America final, Colombia was determined to defeat Argentina to pay off this not-so-nice “debt”. With the “support” of tens of thousands of spectators at the Metropolitano Stadium in Barranquilla, the home team eagerly rushed to attack right after the opening whistle.
A difficult match for Argentina in Barranquilla
However, Argentina was the team that had the opportunity to open the scoring in the 11th minute when Julian Alvarez was fouled by goalkeeper Camilo Vargas in the penalty area and demanded a penalty. Immediately after that, Vargas played excellently, blocking Julian Alvarez’s dangerous shot from a narrow angle.
Yerson Mosquera (2) opened the score for Colombia
In the 25th minute, the crowd went crazy with the opening goal of the home team. James Rodriguez at the corner only made a one-two with a teammate before crossing the ball to the far corner of the goal for center-back Yerson Muslimra to head in. 1-0 for Colombia.
Lautaro Martinez surrounded by Colombian players
The home team, with the mobility of James Rodríguez in midfield and Luis Díaz as a constant threat in attack, really suppressed a slow Argentina, without leader Lionel Messi in the squad due to not recovering from injury.
Nico Gonzalez equalized 1-1 for Argentina
After not having a single shot on target in the first half, Argentina surprisingly played better after the break. In the 48th minute, the away team equalized after Nico Gonzalez took advantage of the home team’s mistake to successfully finish.
Controversial scenes appeared almost throughout the match
Not long after that, Colombia regained the lead from a controversial situation. In the 60th minute, the referee awarded the home team Colombia a penalty after Otamendi fouled Munoz, despite the visitors’ fierce reaction. From 11m away, James Rodriguez easily defeated goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to put Colombia ahead.
James Rodriguez scored the winning goal for Colombia
Argentina counterattacked but they faced many counterattacks, including a chance that Jhon Duran should have scored but was blocked by Emiliano Martinez. The score of 2-1 was maintained until the end of the match and Argentina suffered their first loss after 13 unbeaten matches.
Argentina “exposed” in Barranquilla
This was also the second defeat of the World Cup champion in the South American World Cup qualifiers. Colombia rose to only 2 points behind Argentina at the top of the region.
