Paraguay opened their 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America campaign against Colombia in a daunting group that leaves little margin for error. Here is a preview.
Colombia, 2001 Copa America winners, face a side 56th in the FIFA World Rankings as they search for maximum points in a group that contains Brazil, Costa Rica and Paraguay.
There is utter dominance by Los Cafeteros in this fixture as Paraguay have only managed to beat Colombia twice in their last 14 meetings, spanning 20 years.
Colombia won the last encounter as recently as November when Rafael Santos Borre scored to decide the FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The Coffee Growers are third in the race to the 2026 World Cup with three wins and as many draws from the first six games. Having missed out on Qatar 2022, Nestor Lorenzo‘s side are currently on a 21-match unbeaten run with the most notable result being when they condemned Brazil to a first-ever defeat to Colombia in World Cup qualifying.
There were three consecutive friendly wins early in 2023 including a 2-0 victory over Germany at the Veltins-Arena, that proved a perfect buildup to their World Cup qualifying series which started with a 1-nil victory over Venezuela.
Three successive draws followed but a four-minute brace from Luis Diaz completed a comeback in the tie at home to Brazil. Colombia travelled to Paraguay up next and the victory there ensured they remained behind only Argentina and Uruguay in a 10-team group.
The start to 2024 could not have gone any better as a 1-0 victory over Spain in a friendly was followed up with another against Romania. There is another pre-tournament friendly against the USA in June and they will look to bring momentum into proceedings against Paraguay.
Colombia have reached the quarterfinal at least in five consecutive Copas America and they came third in two of the last three editions. There is enough pedigree and confidence to push them to another deep run into this tournament and they should well be there or thereabouts come July.
It is pertinent that they grab all three points in the opener against Paraguay to stake their claim for a place in the knockout rounds.
Paraguay have been crowned champions of this competition twice (1953 and 1979) and after consecutive quarterfinal finishes, they will be desperate for more this term.
Their World Cup qualification has been poor as it took four matches for their first goal and first win. A draw with Peru was followed by a 1-0 defeat to Venezuela which spelled the end of Barros Schelotto’s tenure.
Daniel Garnero understandably failed to inspire a win against Argentina but they prevailed over Bolivia via a lone goal from Antonio Sanabria. Yet, their new head coach has a lot to do to get a tune out of his side who have been lukewarm at best.
Paraguay have managed a single goal out of their six qualifiers and they are the lowest ranked behind Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica. It is up to them to exceed the expectations on them and they must be tactically solid and prepared to take on all challenges.
Perhaps the fact that they have only conceded three goals in World Cup qualifying points to a strong defensive setup. That unity could be key considering their upcoming opponents but they have some real quality sprinkled with experience in the squad.
The recent return of Oscar Cardoso to the international fold is a reference point for the team as the 40-year-old striker is the oldest player to score for Paraguay in Copa America and he would look to play a role this summer.
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Match tickets
This Copa America Group D match-up takes place on Monday, 24 June 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 11 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on the website of both national federations as well as the tournament organizers so you can hurry to purchase yours.
The NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas is the venue for this eye-catching fixture and there is a 72,000-capacity arena awaiting those who get the privilege to attend this match. Hence, both sets of supporters will be desperate to witness this opening match and the rush to acquire tickets could get difficult.
We urge fans yet to purchase Colombia vs Paraguay tickets to make their search on a ticket resale site.
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Team news
Colombia have a relatively light injury list at the time of writing and they will hope players can stay fit till the start of the tournament.
Paraguay did not have any fitness worries going into the March international break and hopefully, they can call upon a full-strength squad. Of course, everyone is also hoping Cardozo can be available for this sensational swansong.
Line-ups
Luis Diaz is a key man for Colombia and the Liverpool star is in top form having registered 12 goals and five assists in 40 appearances across all competitions at club level this season.
Diaz will be instrumental to their fortunes having finished as joint-top scorer in the 2021 Copa America.
Colombia: Vargas; Munoz, Cuesta, Sanchez, Mojica; Lerma, Castano; Arias, Rodriguez, Diaz; Borre
Paraguay possess a good core and Garnero must harness that to good use to qualify from a very difficult group. They will have to be at their best and look forward to getting results from the group’s heavyweights, hence, a draw would be regarded as a brilliant start to their Copa America campaign.
Paraguay: Carlos; Balbuena, Gomez, Alderete, Espinoza; Villasanti, Cubas; Rojas, Almiron, Sanabria, Bareiro
Prediction
Colombia are dominant in their head-to-head record against the Paraguayans and little is expected to change when the first points of Copa America 2024 are at stake. Paraguay will thus be focused on shutting out the opposition’s best players and set up to profit from errors.
The Tricolour must be fast out the blocks and control proceedings early on to break their opponents. It is perhaps a matter of when, not if, Colombia scores, but Paraguay would be hoping for a massive result here.
Colombia 2-0 Paraguay
