Colombia are no doubt one of the dark horses of the tournament. On their day, they can upset even the mightiest of opponents. They came agonizingly close to defeating rivals Argentina in the quarter-finals last time out in 2015 but lost out on penalties.
Colombia have the right balance of stars and hard workers. The world took notice of their potential in the World Cup when they reached the quarter-final stage in 2014. Radamel Falcao and Jackson Martinez two of their better-known strikers were not included this time.
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Here is their full 23 man squad:
Goalkeepers: Cristian Bonilla (Atletico Nacional), David Ospina (Arsenal), Robinson Zapata (Santa Fe)
Defenders: Felipe Aguilar (Atletico Nacional), Santiago Arias (PSV), Farid Diaz (Atletico Nacional), Frank Fabra (Boca Juniors), Stefan Medina (Pachuca), Jeison Murillo (Inter Milan), Yerry Mina (Santa Fe), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Edwin Cardona (Monterrey), Guillermo Celis (Junior), Juan Cuadrado (Juventus), Sebastian Perez (Atletico Nacional), Andres Felipe Roa (Deportivo Cali), James Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Carlos Sanchez (Aston Villa), Daniel Torres (Independiente Medellin)
Forwards: Carlos Bacca (AC Milan), Roger Martinez (Racing Club), Carlos Moreno (Atletico Nacional), Dayro Moreno (Club Tijuana)
With that in mind, we will try and analyze who will most likely feature for coach José Pékerman in the starting XI and the formation he is most likely to use.
Goalkeeper – David Ospina
Granted David Ospina hasn’t played nearly the amount of football he would have liked to in the past 12 months but he still remains favorite to start for his home nation. Ospina is still preferred to Bonilla and Zapata by Pekerman which is evident looking at Colombia’s last few games.
There was a period of time in the 2015/16 season when he was called upon after Arsenal’s first choice Petr Cech was ruled out through injury. He featured in 4 games in the Premier League and 12 games in other competitions.
Ospina kept 2 clean sheets in the league and on an average made 3.75 saves per game this season. He made several crucial saves as well when Arsenal were in a rut to ensure they did not drop more points than they did.
Defence
Left Back – Farid Diaz
Farid Diaz is an experienced left back and does not regularly feature for Colombia. He has only earned 2 international caps so far both coming in the past two games he has played. But Pekerman seems to have leaned more towards the 32-year-old and he will most likely start again in the tournament.
Centre Back – Jeison Murillo
Jeison Murillo’s stock has risen quite drastically over the past season after his impressive showings for club and country. Several EPL clubs are after the young centre back including Arsenal and Manchester United. Murillo helped Inter finish in the top 4 spots in Serie A and is expected to keep his place in the national team as well.
Centre-Back – Cristian Zapata
Partnering Murillo will be AC Milan defender Cristian Zapata. The 29-year-old has only managed 16 appearances as Milan endured another disappointing season. But he can be assured of a place in the Colombia XI having been a regular over the past few years.
Right Back – Santiago Arias
Santiago Arias had a splendid season with PSV as they lifted the Eredivisie title on the final day, pipping rivals Ajax in the process. Arias featured regularly for his side even scoring 3 goals and notching up 3 assists. He is arguably the most high-profile defender of this Colombian back four.
Midfielders
Central Midfield – Daniel Torres
Daniel Torres is the first of a 5 man midfield that includes two central midfielders that play in front of the back four. Torres has only 3 international caps to his name and was given his debut by Pekerman and should continue to remain in the starting XI in Copa America as well
Central Midfield – Sebastian Perez
In the past few matches, Pekerman has chosen to play a two man central midfield and he has partnered Perez with Torres. The 23-year-old has risen to fame in Colombia. From Amateur football, he now features regularly for his club Atletico Nacional.
Left Midfield – Edwin Cardona
The Left midfield position is normally a rotatable role with two or three players having gotten their opportunity in the first XI. But Edwin Cardona has been impressive of late in the WC qualifiers and the coach will most likely start him in the first game.
Right Midfield - Juan Cuadrado
The right midfielder position is a no brainer for Pekerman. Juan Cuadrado has been in fiery form all season. After failing to establish himself at Chelsea the winger made the move to Turin and he has truly become one of the key members of that Juventus team. Whether the Blues decide to keep him this season is another matter.
Attacking Midfield - James Rodriguez
James Rodriguez will be the man that Colombia will towards for inspiration. He might have had a poor domestic season but is still the best player in the South American side. He generally plays the No. 10 role but has also played as the support striker on occasion.
Striker – Carlos Bacca
After Radalmel Falcao faded away and Jackson Martinez forgot how to find the back of the net, Pekerman has decided to turn to AC Milan forward Carlos Bacca. I Rossoneri have had a disastrous campaign but Bacca has been their silver lining.
The club finished 7th in the league and well below the top four places. While all their strikers including Mario Balotelli were misfiring Carlos Bacca provided some relief, scoring 18 goals in 38 appearances.
Bacca is also the only recognizable name in that forward line and Colombia will bank on his experience and James Rodiguez’s flair to help them get through the group stages of the competition.
Formation
As mentioned earlier, coach Jose Pekerman prefers to use a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 formation with James Rodriguez playing as either the number 10 or the second striker. Edwin Cardona can play in the attacking midfield role and even as the central midfielder but he has played on the left under the manager.
Cuadrado will provide the main attacking threat from the wings with Santiago Arias pushing up from right back. The right side will mostly be the best attacking outlet for the team. Torres and Perez will perform the holding role providing defensive cover for the back four.
