Mini football figure - Colombia

Colombia

A Colombian national football team competed for the first time in an official tournament, the Central American and Caribbean Games in Panama, in 1938. Already on 20 July 1937, in a tournament celebrating the 400th anniversary of the city of Cali, a selection of the Colombian Football Federation had played a first match against the Mexican team of Jalisco from Guadalajara.

History of the national team

In 1962, Colombia qualified for the World Cup in Chile, but were eliminated in the preliminary round after a draw (4-4 against the Soviet Union) and two defeats, finishing last in Group A.

At the 1975 Copa América, Colombia reached the final, losing 1-0 to Peru and 2-0 in the decisive third final match.

The 1986 World Cup had been awarded to the only candidate, Colombia, in 1974, but as Colombia could not meet FIFA's requirements, the World Cup was withdrawn from Colombia in 1983 and Mexico was chosen as the new venue. Colombia then had to qualify and was eliminated in the relegation round against Paraguay.

The Colombians had their "Golden Generation" in the early 1990s. Their participation in the 1990 World Cup was their first appearance in a World Cup final in 28 years, where they were narrowly beaten by Cameroon in the round of 16 and drew 1-1 with eventual world champions Germany in the preliminary round. During this time, record international Carlos Valderrama played 111 caps and was twice voted South America's Footballer of the Year.

For the following World Cup in 1994, they were even given a real outside chance of winning the title. In the qualifiers, they had given a commanding performance, beating Argentina 5:0, among others. But they did not make it past the preliminary round. Andrés Escobar, who scored an own goal against the USA on 22 June 1994, causing Colombia to lose 2-1, was shot dead in a Medellín bar a few days later.

This was followed by a disappointing World Cup in France in 1998. Colombia lost their matches against England and Romania and were eliminated in the preliminary round.

In 2001, they won the Copa América 2001 in their own country, their first international tournament. This qualified them directly for the 2003 Confederations Cup in France, where they finished fourth.

However, when they failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in Japan/Korea, they landed hard on the ground.

They finished fourth at the Copa América 2004 in Peru. The team again failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. At the Copa América 2007 in Venezuela, they were eliminated in the preliminary round by Paraguay and Argentina.

After a 16-year absence, Colombia qualified for a World Cup again in 2014. In Brazil, the team achieved its greatest success to date by reaching the quarter-finals. In the match against the hosts, however, the Colombians were narrowly eliminated with a 2-1 defeat. James Rodríguez was the top scorer at the World Cup with 6 goals.

The senior national team never took part in the Olympic Games. A Colombian Olympic team participated in 1968, 1972, 1980 and 1992, but was eliminated in the preliminary round on each occasion.

Colombia has played the most matches against CONCACAF members of any CONMEBOL member. The match against Canada on 14 October 2014 was Colombia's 100th meeting with a CONCACAF member.