Copa América: Colombia, with James’ left foot, defeats Paraguay without anguish | Copa América 2024 | Soccer

The inexhaustible left foot of James Rodríguez, when not. Néstor Lorenzo’s Colombia, which continued its remarkable undefeated run as a coffee coach, resolved its debut in the Copa América against Paraguay, a team well-known for its fierce aerial game, with a couple of precise crosses from its ten and captain that found accurate headers from Daniel Muñoz and Jefferson Lerma in the first half (2-1). Two goals to the paraguayan for the first victory in the tournament of a refined team, which invites excitement and resisted Enciso’s late discount without major anguish.

Despite the discreet performance of Luis Díaz, its other great figure, and with a less fluid game than usual in the second half, Colombia responded to the favoritism that precedes it in the face of the continental tournament, with the permission of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil , the historical giants. The tricolor has not been defeated since Lorenzo assumed command, two years ago, and arrives in the United States at an enviable moment.

Colombia deployed a familiar lineup on the field of the NRG Stadium in Houston, which its fans already recite by heart, without any major surprises. With Camilo Vargas in goal, Mojica and Muñoz on the sides, along with John Lucumí and Davinson Sánchez as the central couple in charge of repelling the predictable bombardment of centers and long balls from the Guaraníes. In the middle, Lerma and Richard Ríos, with James, John Arias and Lucho Díaz a little further ahead as those responsible for the ideas. At the top, Rafael Santos Borré, Néstor Lorenzo’s trusted forward.

A distant shot by Ríos already warned of the virtues of the Palmeiras midfielder after five minutes, who shone in a fast-paced game. Ríos, with an unusual biography, as he comes from futsal, where the ball is almost not even raised, stood out by pulling the strings of the midfield. In that abrupt start, Lerma, from Crystal Palace, received a yellow card for a challenge on Miguel Almirón, the Newcastle winger, which conditioned him for the rest of the game, in a duel with a Premier flavor. Paraguay even came close with a free kick from Julio Enciso, Brighton’s very active attacker, who forced a volleyball save from Vargas. Lorenzo’s plan was altered by the departure of Lucumí, who retired with angry expressions after being hit on the knee by a ball from Enciso, who appeared everywhere. He was relieved by Yerry Mina, Cagliari’s gigantic central defender.

James, who if not him, was in charge of unclogging the game and endorsing the validity of his left foot. Around the half-hour mark, he launched a precise cross for a hammered header from Muñoz, the Crystal Palace right-back who has become accustomed to arriving as another winger with his national team. He is the Colombian who has accumulated the most starts with Lorenzo, in 15 of those 21 games, and he had already scored in a very similar action the winning goal over Spain, one of the victories that have consolidated the prestige of the Colombian coach. Ten minutes later, Lerma scored a free kick from James with another header that is usually attributed to the lost DNA of the Guaraníes.

After the break, Enciso scored from the right after a cross was passed to the far post, a play similar to Colombia’s first goal. James was about to crown his third assist of the day in a play linked with Lucho inside the Paraguayan area in the 75th, but his pass did not find the foot of Jhon Córdoba, who had just entered for Borré. The Sao Paulo playmaker, where he plays little, even had time to try a left-footed shot from the corner of the area that Rodrigo Morínigo contained and a very deflected right-footed shot in which he claimed that he had been held inside the area, before going out for Juan Fernando Quintero with time served to receive a resounding applause. Colombia is still moving at James’ pace, and now waits for Costa Rica next Friday. The last match of the group pits them against Brazil, in which it seems like the final battle to compete against the selection the favoritism that the weight of his shirt presupposes.

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