Copa America: Colombia gives Costa Rica a lesson, strengthens its position at the top of its group and qualifies for the quarterfinals | Copa America 2024 | Football

Néstor Lorenzo beat Gustavo Alfaro in the duel between Argentine coaches that took place this Friday at the University of Phoenix stadium. Lorenzo’s Colombia was the leader of the group after beating Paraguay 2-1 in the first match, while Alfaro’s Costa Rica had just rescued a valuable point after a goalless draw against a weak Brazilian team. It was the opportunity for both teams to validate what they had done previously and get on track to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Copa América. A 3-0 scoreline leaves no doubt about what happened.

In the initial approach, Lorenzo and Alfaro tried to replicate the formations from four days before. In Colombia, Jhon Córdoba started for Rafael Santos Borré as the only striker and Carlos Cuesta replaced the injured Jhon Lucumí, who left the match against Paraguay with discomfort, in the central pair. For its part, Costa Rica replaced only one of its chips. Warren Madrigal entered to take Jefferson Brenes’ place in the middle of the court. In the rest, from the board it was projected that the coffee growers would bet on possession and the wings, with their open ends, while the Central Americans would protect themselves in defense with three fixed defenders.

It was enough for Uruguayan referee Gustavo Tejera to blow the whistle for Colombia to take the lead. The Costa Rican midfield held out for ten minutes, allowing only a deflected header from Luis Díaz after a cross from Richard Ríos. As Lorenzo’s team settled in and circulated the ball, the Costa Ricans’ display waned, losing momentum. At 20 minutes, it was James Rodríguez, taking advantage of a pass from Díaz after a memorable move to break free, who almost opened the scoring with his left foot. Goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira prevented the goal.

But just seven minutes later, Sequeira would be responsible for his team conceding a goal. Colombian winger Daniel Muñoz, who scored the first goal against Paraguay, sent a long pass in search of striker Jhon Córdoba. In a quick play but far from the goal, in which the striker was fighting for possession with rival captain Francisco Calvo, Sequeira rushed to the edge of his area and unnecessarily attacked the coffee striker. Díaz took over the charge and billed, kicking to his right, the opposite side chosen by Sequeira.

The end of the first half resulted in two opportunities to increase the difference, but Davinson Sánchez failed on both occasions. At 33, after a corner kick, he caught a rebound with his right leg and sent it to the stands; At 36 he was unable to connect with a pass from Díaz despite having the goal at his disposal because Sequeira had been surpassed. However, in the second half he had his revenge.

Alfaro tried to give more volume to his team’s attack and sent Joseph Mora and Joel Campbell, one of the survivors of that legendary Costa Rica that reached the quarterfinals in Brazil 2014, to take the place of Manfred Ugalde and Ariel Lassiter. The order to go in search of the tie was taken advantage of by the coffee growers, who quickly took advantage of the spaces. After roaming around the three-quarters of the Costa Rican field, Sánchez got rid of the thorn from minutes ago and scored with an accurate header. Sequeira was left without any chance, watching how the ball inflated the net.

The rest of the meeting was a lecture. Colombia did not let its rival approach the goal defended by Camilo Vargas, who was just another spectator. For the third score, Davinson Sánchez again, in a cavalcade that saw him start from his own area and reach the half defended by the Ticos. He gave the ball to James Rodríguez, who used his right leg, his least skillful, to enable Córdoba. The play was sealed with a cross shot by the Russian Krasnodar striker. The celebration went wild, taking off his shirt and shouting at the top of his lungs.

The advantage gave Lorenzo the opportunity to bring in John Jader Durán, Mateus Uribe, Kevin Castaño, Rafael Santos Borré and Yaser Asprilla. The latter came very close to scoring the fourth goal, but his shot went just a few centimetres wide of Sequeira’s right post.

On July 2, Colombia will be able to confirm its good form against the five-time world champion, Brazil. Costa Rica will seek a victory against Paraguay to seek the spot reserved for the second in the group. The coffee growers continue their unbeaten streak of 22 matches, very close to the record of 27 achieved by the team coached by Francisco Maturana in the nineties.

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