Tuesday’s international acca tips and predictions: Brazilians overpriced, England to struggle again
We’ve picked out five top tips for Tuesday night’s star-studded international friendly lineup including England vs Belgium and Spain vs Brazil.
Colombia have participated in six World Cups and won their first international title as the hosts of the 2001 Copa America.
They also finished runners-up at the 1975 Copa America and have appeared in the semi-finals six times.
After missing out on the 1958 World Cup, Colombia finally qualified for and participated in the 1962 World Cup in Chile. They went home without a win after losing to Uruguay 2-1 and Yugoslavia 5-0, while drawing 4-4 against the USSR.
Colombia had five different goalscorers in the tournament.
Over the next 28 years, the closest Colombia came to qualifying for a World Cup was in 1974 when they lost out on goal difference to Uruguay. In 1986, they made the final four of the CONMEBOL play-off for the final spot but lost to Paraguay in a two-legged play-off.
Ending the 28-year drought
In the round of 16, Colombia faced Cameroon. The game was goalless after 90 minutes but Cameroon scored in the 106th and 108th minutes before Redin got one back in the 115th.
However, Colombia couldn't find an equaliser and went home. Despite this defeat, it was still their best-ever World Cup finish to that point.
The 1994 World Cup in the United States ended in tragedy off the field. Colombia lost to Romania 3-1 with Adolfo Valencia scoring the lone goal. In the second game, Valencia scored again in a 2-1 loss to USA.
However, the story of the match was defender Andres Escobar scoring an own goal in the 35th minute to give the hosts the lead. Less than two weeks later, Escobar was murdered in Medellin, Colombia, after being shot six times outside a nightclub.
Colombia won their final group game at the 1994 World Cup courtesy of a 2-0 success against Switzerland. However, the win was overshadowed by their elimination from the tournament and the murder of Escobar five days after the team had left the US.
His funeral was attended by more than 120,000 people and a statue of Escobar now stands in Medellin.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, Colombia were eliminated in the group stage. They lost to Romania 1-0, beat Tunisia 1-0 and lost to England 2-0.
Colombia missed out on the next three World Cups. In 2002, they finished sixth in qualifying, missing a spot in the intercontinental play-off on goal difference.
In 2006, they also finished in sixth place, one point behind Uruguay despite having a better goal difference.
They again finished one point behind Uruguay in 2010 qualifying to miss out on the World Cup in South Africa.
Colombia returned to the World Cup in 2014 aftre finishing second in CONMEBOL qualifying, just two points behind top-of-the-table Argentina.
In Brazil, the Colombians opened the group stages with a 3-0 win over Greece as Pablo Armero, Teofilo Gutierrez and James Rodriguez scored.
Rodriguez scored twice in a 2-0 win over Uruguay in the round of 16 to give Colombia their first-ever quarter-final appearance. Rodriguez found the net for a fifth straight game in the quarter-finals, but Colombia lost to Brazil 2-1.
The 2018 qualifying process was a close one for Colombia as they finished fourth and grabbed the final place by one point from Peru and Chile.
In the opening group game of the 2018 World Cup, they lost to Japan 3-1 after Carlos Sanchez received a red card in the third minute. They bounced back to thump Poland 3-0 with goals from Yerry Mina, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado.
Rodriguez missed the round of 16 game against England, and Colombia fell behind to a Harry Kane penalty in the 57th minute.
Mina headed home a Cuadrado cross in the 93rd minute to level the game and neither team scored in extra time. Colombia led 3-2 after three rounds of penalty kicks in the shootout, but Mateus Uribe and Carlos Bacca both missed.
Eric Dier then scored to send England into the quarter-finals; the first penalty shootout won by England at a World Cup.
In 1987, they lost in extra time to Chile in the semi-finals before beating Argentina 2-1 in the third-place game. Carlos Valderrama was named the tournament's best player.
Colombia finished fourth in the 2004 Copa America and third at the Copa America Centenario in 2016. They beat USA 1-0 in the third-place game after falling to Chile 2-0 in the semi-finals.
The biggest rivalry for Colombia is with neighbours Venezuela, although the match-up was very one-sided until the 2000s.
Colombia drew 2-2 in Venezuela in 2001 and coach Luis Garcia was immediately fired. In qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, the Colombians lost 1-0 at home to Venezuela.
Colombia's top players
We’ve picked out five top tips for Tuesday night’s star-studded international friendly lineup including England vs Belgium and Spain vs Brazil.
Friday’s fixture list might not offer much in way of excitement, though we have managed to find four matches which may tickle your fancy.
Luis Diaz scored twice as Colombia stunned Brazil 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier, days after his father was released by kidnappers.
The World Cup Qualifiers CONMEBOL continue on Thursday night and we’ve picked out a tasty treble for your viewing pleasure (Fri 0000 GMT).
Colombia will put their 15-match unbeaten streak on the line when they face an injury-hit Brazil side who have struggled in recent qualifiers (Fri 0000 GMT).
The rebel group holding Luis Diaz's father claim military action in the local area is not only delaying the release of their hostage but putting him at risk.
Leeds winger Luis Sinisterra is expected to be ruled out of action until after the World Cup winter break due to a rare foot injury.