lto Miguel Borja’s career has been one of ups and downs, remembering that in his first years in Cúcuta Deportivo, Cortuluá, La Equidad, Livorno (Italy), Olimpo (Argentina) and Independiente Santa Fe, he was singled out for not marking the ones he had. But then he had that big explosion on his return to Cortuluá, which It has led him to stand out in Atlético Nacional, Palmeiras, Junior de Barranquilla and River Plate, where he has become among the top scorers in 2024.
This campaign, in local tournaments in Argentina and in the Copa Libertadores, has him on the list with 22 goals in 25 official matches: 16 goals in the League, 1 in the Argentine Cup and 5 in Libertadores. With these data you will join the group of the Colombian senior team that works in Barranquilla and will travel to the United States in the first week of June.
Why hasn’t Miguel Borja established himself in the Colombian National Team?
However, not everything has been for the best, since in 2 stages in Brazil those criticisms and questions came again for not scoring goals or not being present in important matches, this It happened in his last time with Palmeiras and in his short time at Gremio de Porto Alegre.
And to begin to connect with the Colombian National Team, the Tierralta attacker has also gone up and down, since in the youth team he began to stand out with the U-20 and U-21, but He lost his position and prominence for the U-20 World Cup in Turkey and with the U-23 team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.. This was not an impediment for his good performances in clubs that allowed him to reach ‘la Tricolor’ as adults, scoring a few goals in friendlies and getting on the list for the 2018 Russia World Cup.
It seemed that he was called to replace Falcao García, Carlos Bacca, Teófilo Gutiérrez, Jackson Martínez and many other Colombian scorers who stood out worldwide, who conquered Europe and who entered the history of the national team. But it has not been like that, since there has not been an important offer from Europe and this seems to take away his prominence compared to other players, also in the important matches of The bad moments and failures of ‘la Tricolor’ left him in debt playing for Carlos Queiroz and Reinaldo Rueda.
But now, Just before the 2024 Copa América, Miguel Borja arrives as one of the most effective scorers in the world of the yearthat led him to be called up for the first time by Néstor Lorenzo after spending 2 years in the position of national coach and he hopes to get rid of the bad image and fame that has remained with him due to the ups and downs, for not appearing in the most important moments and because he did not comply tactically, something that weighed on him when he went through Junior and was directed by Amaranto Perea, the current technical assistant of ‘la Tricolor’ of seniors.
For Lorenzo, there are forwards above him, such as Rafael Santos Borré, Jhon Córdoba, Jhon Jader Durán, Mateo Cassierra, among others. They have been called by the Argentine coach and They fit more in tactical tasks, attrition and collaborating with descents on the court so that James Rodríguez is not so exposed and contribute everything in attack.
Borja, the world goalscorer who would reach the 2024 Copa América with Colombia
TO a few hours after joining the Colombian Senior National Team, after more than 2 years when it played in the Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World CupBorja scored a hat trick against Tigre and gave River Plate a 3-1 victory. And he referred to the fact that puts him among the top scorers in the world in 2024, above Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Luuk de Jong, among others:
Being the continent’s top scorer in the calendar year, Borja is in the top 5 at an orbital level, which is why he hopes to continue increasing the number with the Colombian National Team, remembering that The list of 26 for the Copa América 2024 has not yet been defined and there are 28 named for the friendlies prior to the competition.
- Akram Afif and Viktor Gyökeres: 26 goals
- Enes Shain: 24 goals
- Kylian Mbappé: 23 goals
- Miguel Angel Borja and Ayoub El Kaabi: 22 goals
- Pedro and Noah Baffoe: 21 goals
- Adrián Martínez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Martín Cauteruccio: 20 goals
- Erling Haaland, Alexander Sørloth, Harry Kane, Luke Bowen and Luuk de Jong: 19 goals
- Phil Foden, Pedro and Samuel Szmodics: 18 goals
Colombia National Team Calendar in Copa América 2024
Friendly 1: Colombia vs. United States – June 8 4:30 pm (Colombia time) – FedEx Field Stadium (Landover, Maryland)
Friendly 2: Colombia vs. Bolivia – June 15 4:00 pm (Colombia time) – Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (East Hartford, Connecticut)
To the to know the groups, the path that ‘la Tricolor’ will have in this initial phase was also definedstarting with Paraguay, then with the Costa Ricans and will end with the favorite and head of the group, which is Brazil.
- Group stage for Colombia in the Copa América 2024
Date 1: Colombia vs. Paraguay – June 24 5:00 pm (Colombia Time) NRG Stadium, Houston
– Date 2: Colombia vs. Costa Rica – June 28 5:00 pm (Colombia Time) State Farm Stadium, Glendale
Date 3: Brazil vs. Colombia – July 2 – 8:00 pm (Colombia Time) Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
- Possible rivals for Colombia in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final of Copa América 2024
If Colombia happens like first in Group D the rival will be the second in Group C (United States, Uruguay, Panama or Bolivia), that game would be July 6 at State Farm Stadium, Glendale. If ‘la Tricolor’ passes as second, the rival will leave the rival from the same zone C at Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, and it would be that same sixth day of the sixth month of the year.
If they advance to the semifinals, the rival would be one of those who advance from Group C of their respective bracket or a team that they already know from Group D that advances from the series. That game would be played on July 10 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte..
So, if you reach the final or third and fourth place, you will meet those who play in Group A and Group B. Remembering that the consolation match is on July 13 at the same Bank of America Stadium and The final is on July 14 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
