The decision to go to Paris to play a warm-up friendly against France was a high risk option for Colombia.
After reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 2014, Colombia have been consistently disappointing. Their 2018 qualification campaign was a laboured affair, which ended with them limping over the line, without a win in their final four matches. Then in November came defeat by South Korea in a friendly. Coach Jose Pekerman seemed lost. He had used an astonishing 45 players in qualification, and was still adding to the list. Time is running out for him to find a blend, to define a team and a style of play.
There was an obvious problem in going to France. One of the World Cup players, with plenty of competition for places in the starting line-up, the French looked especially dangerous. A heavy defeat could send Colombia right back to square one, with precious little time to do anything about it.
And a heavy defeat seemed on the cards. Olivier Giroud gave France an early lead, with a goal that must have made Pekerman wince.
Arsenal’s David Ospina is Colombia’s unchallenged first-choice goalkeeper. They lack an alternative of genuine quality. If they had one, then Ospina would probably be on the bench, because his inactivity at club level is surely taking its toll. Over the past year he has invented newer and more bizarre ways to concede goals – and he messed up badly once more, spilling a routine cross for Giroud to fire home.
Soon, with Colombia unable to hold the breaks of Kylian Mbappe down the right, the lead had been doubled. Colombia appeared on the way to a rout – a disaster for morale, and a massive blow to Pekerman’s team building.
After being forced out of the last World Cup through injury, captain and centre-forward Radamel Falcao Garcia is desperate to play this one. His front to goal potency is legendary. But his back-to-goal link-play is not good. The ball would not stick to Colombia’s No.9. He kept losing possession, the team kept coming under more pressure and Pekerman must have been hoping that his players could get through to the final whistle without being humiliated.
They had a little luck to help them quickly pull a goal back. Luis Muriel curled a right footed cross in from the left. Hugo Lloris in the French goal expected a touch – his Tottenham team-mate Davinson Sanchez nearly got one, but the ball continued unaltered on its path and rolled into the far corner.
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Colombia gained strength, and began to show some of their virtues. One of them is strength. Davinson Sanchez and the giant Yerry Mina are a pair of physically imposing centre-backs who are also blessed with pace. The high line they held enabled to team to stay compact. And, crucially, versatile midfielder Matheus Uribe was moved across to block the space that Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann were enjoying, in front of Colombia’s attacking left-back Frank Fabra.
Colombia, then, were able to play their way back into contention, and the relief that they were not about to be humiliated sent a surge of confidence through the side. Uribe made a vital tackle, holding midfielder Carlos Sanchez played a quick probing pass down the right, James Rodriguez squared – and there was Falcao to do what he does best, sweep the ball into the far corner.
Colombia’s substitutes – Duvan Zapata up front, Jefferson Lerma in midfield, Jose Izquierdo on the left – increased the team’s physical presence. And then, among the strapping artisans, came the squat little artist.
Juan Fernando Quintero seemed to have the football world at his feet when he scored in the last World Cup. But somewhere along the way – Porto to be precise – he lost direction, and appeared to lose his love of the game. He put on weight. There was even gossip about him giving up football for music. But the prospect of another World Cup would seem to have ignited him. He is on loan at River Plate in Argentina, and, bit by bit, is playing himself back into form. He was recalled to the squad for the first time since 2015.
Quintero orchestrated the move down the left which ended with Izquierdo being fouled in the box. There was no debate about who was going to take the penalty. With Falcao and Rodriguez both already off the field, Quintero grabbed the ball, marched to the spot and struck hard and true to give Colombia their first ever victory over France. Russia 2018 is just over 80 days away, and he wants to be there.
And he, like all of the Colombia players in action in Paris, has given his hopes a giant boost. After 25 minutes it looked like being a game to send Pekerman back to the drawing board. Instead, it turned out to be a match that could be the making of a team.
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