Conmebol

Straight

With less spark than the team that dazzled at the recent Copa America in the United States, a Colombia dependent on the ideas of James Rodriguez rescued a draw in its visit to Peru thanks to a header by Luis Diaz near the end of the match at the National Stadium in Lima. The coffee growers, third in the table, remain the only undefeated team in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in North America. Peru, which remains in the bottom, had taken the lead with a goal by Alexander Callens.

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Pedro Gallese, Zambrano, Callens (Luis Abram, min. 81), Miguel Araujo, Renato Tapia, Marcos Johan Lopez, Sergio Peña (Jean Pierre Archimbaud, min. 81), Wilder Cartagena (Andy Polo, min. 93), Advíncula, Gianluca Lapadula (Roberto Reyna, min. 81) and Alex Valera

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The following players were selected: Camilo Vargas, Carlos Cuesta (Yerry Mina, min. 45), Daniel Munoz, Mojica, John Lucumi, Jefferson Lerma, Richard Rios, Jhon Arias (Yaser Asprilla, min. 71), Cordoba (Jhon Duran, min. 71), Luis Diaz and Luis Sinisterra (James, min. 45)

Goals 1-0 min. 68: Callens. 1-1 min. 82: Luis Díaz.

Referee Esteban Ostojich

Yellow cards for Luis Sinisterra (min. 27) and Yerry Mina (min. 89)

Néstor Lorenzo surprised by leaving out of the starting lineup his captain, James Rodríguez, the best player in the Copa América, who has just signed for Rayo Vallecano but has not yet played any minutes this season. The number ten had been out of action for more than 50 days until he came on for the second half. In his place in the starting eleven was Luis Sinisterra, the winger who had just scored for Bournemouth in the Premier League, to accompany Luis Díaz, the other great figure of the Colombians, who wore the armband in the absence of the midfielder, in an attack crowned by John Córdoba. They were backed by a good part of the elite eleven that reached the Copa final, an identifiable base that includes goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, Daniel Muñoz at right back and Jefferson Lerma in midfield.

Without James on the pitch, the free-kick taker in the first half was John Arias, the Fluminense all-rounder, but his shots were not accurate. Neither was Richard Rios, the Palmeiras midfielder who came up through futsal, consistent in creating play. Intense but inaccurate, Colombia survived with a clean sheet in the first half thanks to a remarkable save from Vargas, who flew to the corner to deflect an opponent’s header, as Gianluca Lapadula’s shot was offside, which was confirmed by the VAR.

At half-time, Lorenzo made amends by bringing on James for Sinisterra and Yerry Mina for an injured Carlos Cuesta in the centre of defence. The game began to flow better with the presence of the number ten, but Colombia conceded a goal after the hour mark, following a corner kick that the defence failed to clear. Defender Alexander Callens ended up putting the ball in and Peru celebrated a goal that briefly took them off the bottom of the table.

The coach reacted immediately by bringing in two of Colombia’s great young talents, John Jader Duran, who has started the season as a hero for Aston Villa, and Yaser Asprilla, who signed for Girona, both 20 years old. The Tricolor, who played in black with their second uniform, tilted the pitch in their favour. Pedro Gallese saved a mid-distance shot from Ríos with his nails, and Asprilla also tried with another long-range shot that went wide. The goalkeeper again saved Peru from a header from Duran after a precise cross from James that was just the prelude to the equaliser.

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With James’ left foot, corner kicks are always poisonous. His shot found the head of Durán at the near post, a physical prodigy who is asking for a chance, and Lucho Díaz, the elusive winger who has already scored five goals this nascent campaign with Liverpool, made sure of the equaliser by diving into the six-yard box in the 82nd minute. Colombia finished the match better and could have even won it with a deflected shot from Ríos, who never stopped trying.

Since taking over as coach two years ago, Lorenzo has only lost one match, the Copa final against Argentina in extra time. Colombia’s streak has only been interrupted against Messi’s Albiceleste, the world champions, and in a game that ended the 90 minutes without goals and was only decided by Lautaro Martínez’s late goal. They remain the only undefeated team in the South American qualifiers for North America 2026. The marathon round-robin CONMEBOL qualifiers, which now grant more places than ever before – up to 7 out of 10 teams, pending the play-offs – put Colombia in this double date first against the bottom team, away, and then to host Argentina, the leader of the table, in Barranquilla next Tuesday. A match with a spirit of revenge.

Colombia is third with 13 points, only behind Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina and Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay. In other matches on the day, the Albiceleste, world and Latin American champions, continue their cruising pace in the qualifiers. The Escaloneta maintained their overwhelming pace against Chile, with six wins and one loss in the first seven games. Without Messi, they beat the South American La Roja 3-0 on Thursday with goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Julián Álvarez and Paulo Dybala. Bolivia, with the advantage of the 4,150 meters of El Alto, also beat Venezuela 4-0. Uruguay and Paraguay drew 0-0 in Luis Suárez’s farewell to his national team, while Brazil defeated Ecuador 1-0 with a goal from Rodrygo and thus broke its streak of three consecutive losses.

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