Photo: FCF
A routine friendly against the United States almost went sour for Colombia, but Los Cafeteros retook control for a convincing 4-2 win in Tampa Bay, Florida on Thursday.
Colombia got on the board in the first half when superstar James Rodríguez curled in a golazo through the top left corner of the net in the 36th minute. The midfielder showed Colombia what it was missing when he was injured against England in the World Cup Round of 16 match this summer.
The lead wouldn’t last for long, however, as Colombia subbed on Juan Fernando Quintero for Juan Cuadrado and the Medellín-native put his stamp on the game immediately.
Quintero took the ball from the right sideline and threaded a beautiful pass to Santiago Arias towards the end line. The Atlético Madrid man was able to keep his composure and fed a great ball inside to an open Carlos Bacca in front of the goal for Colombia’s tying score.
Colombia pounced later on in the half when an ambitious outlet pass from James connected with Bacca, who passed back to the streaking Quintero. The shifty midfielder made another pinpoint pass and allowed captain Radamel Falcao to find the perfect spot for Colombia’s third goal of the match.
Minutes later, James got enough separation in the box from defender John Brooks to find substitute forward Miguel Borja, whose pseudo-bicycle kick made it 4-2 in favor of the Colombians.
Colombia now advances to 13-3-4 all-time against the United States.
The Colombians will travel north to return to the pitch in New Jersey on Tuesday when they meet another CONCACAF foe, Costa Rica. The last time the two teams met, Costa Rica topped Colombia 3-2 in the Copa América Centenario group stage.
This article originally appeared on Colombia Focus.
