Miserable Colombia risk missing out on World Cup after latest defeat to Argentina

The race for who qualifies for the 2022 FIFA World Cup from the CONMEBOL bloc is getting keener with each passing match. So far, Brazil and Argentina have already booked their places for the mega-event. However, the remaining three slots are still up for grabs and seven teams are currently in contention.

The seventh of those teams is Colombia, who endured a miserable end to 2021. The South American side haven’t started the current year well either. Reinaldo Rueda’s side has simply been dreadful and are now in danger of missing out on World Cup qualification following a 1-0 defeat to Argentina.

Los Cafeteros were completely dominated by an Argentina team that was without Lionel Messi.

Colombia continued winless run after loss to Argentina

The dire performances and poor results have left Rueda on the brink of losing his job, with Colombia now winless in their last seven qualifying games. Los Cafeteros have drawn four and lost three times in that period, culminating in the team’s poorest run of form in recent years.

James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado and Miguel Borja have been unable to inspire the rest of their teammates despite being the leaders in the squad. Nothing seems to be working for Colombia at the moment and it’s only a matter of time before Rueda is sacked as recompense.

Colombia unlikely to be at Qatar

Colombia’s position in the qualifying table means it will take a miracle for them to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar. Los Cafeteros are five points behind fourth-placed Uruguay and four behind fifth-placed Peru with just two more matches remaining.

They also have tough tests against Bolivia and Venezuela to come in March. Given their current form, Colombia are likely to drop more points. Rueda said, as quoted by El Pais:

"[Scoring] the goal is missing. Situations have been created. At home, we always generate 10, 12 goal situations. Today, the game became very intense, we had two or three."

He added:

"Perhaps we have lacked clarity in midfield and also in finishing. We have lacked that forcefulness. We want to continue with the strength. This is not over, we want to continue until the end. I hope that we continue with the motivation and the willingness to deliver until the last minute.”

Statistically, it may not be over, but realistically Colombia’s hopes of playing at the World Cup are gone. They haven’t been good enough in the qualifiers and do not deserve to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.