One of the pre-tournament favourites, Colombia, begin their 2024 Copa America campaign on Monday against Paraguay in Group D action from NRG Stadium in Houston.
Los Cafeteros head into this tournament on a 23-match unbeaten run, most recently defeating Bolivia 3-0, while the Paraguayans won their previous encounter 1-0 over Panama.
Match preview
© Reuters
The Colombians will be brimming with confidence heading into this competition, having not lost an international match in over two years.
Argentina were the last side to beat them on the international stage in February 2022 (1-0), while Nestor Lorenzo's men are currently on an eight-match winning run, outscoring their 2024 opponents by a combined margin of 12-3.
In their four matches played this year, Colombia have not been behind for a single minute, winning six successive encounters when scoring first.
They have been good when facing a deficit as well, though, coming back to win their previous three encounters when conceding the opening goal.
While little has gone wrong since Nestor Lorenzo took charge, Colombian supporters have seen a similar story before, when they lost just one of their 33 matches played before the 1994 World Cup and famously collapsed in that competition, exiting after the group stage.
Colombia have won their opening match in each of the last three editions of the Copa America, including a 2-0 win over the hosts, the USA, in 2016, while they defeated Paraguay in a 2026 World Cup qualifier last November (1-0).
© Reuters
Paraguay have something to build on heading into this tournament, winning their final tune-up fixture, which was their first victory of 2024.
That ended a four-match winless run for them, with La Albirroja failing to find the back of the net in any of those previous encounters.
They have emerged victorious the last three times that they have found the back of the net while failing to concede in each of those instances.
In their previous Copa America appearance on US soil in 2016, the Paraguayans were knocked out in the group stage, failing to register a single victory while scoring only once.
Daniel Garnero came into this job with attacking intentions, though his players seem to be better suited to defending deep and hitting teams on the counter, conceding a goal or fewer in nine of their previous 10 games.
La Guaranies are winless in their last four meetings with Colombia and have not won a Copa America match against them since 2007 (5-0).
Team News
© Reuters
In their victory over Bolivia, 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez collected his 100th cap with Colombia, and he is the second most experienced player chosen for Los Cafeteros at this tournament behind record cap holder David Ospina (128).
Sebastian Gomez has the fewest caps on this roster with two, Yerson Mosquera has three, Jhon Cordoba is at four and Jefferson Lerma of Crystal Palace is seven away from 50.
Liverpool striker Luis Diaz, who can reach 50 caps on Monday, netted his 12th goal for the national team in their previous encounter, with Jhon Cordoba and Jhon Arias scoring the others, the second and third, respectively, for them with the national team.
Rodrigo Morinigo was the only Paraguay player selected for this tournament without a senior appearance, and Fabrizio Peralta has just one cap to his name, as they are two of the 11 players chosen that have featured in fewer than 10 matches for this team.
Captain Gustavo Gomez can reach 75 caps should he see the field in this one, Derlis Gonzalez picked up cap number 51 against Panama, while Fabian Balbuena can get to 40 on Monday.
Gustavo Velazquez scored his first international goal in their victory versus the Panamanians, and Carlos Coronel picked up his second clean sheet in his last three games between the sticks.
Colombia possible starting lineup:
Ospina; S. Arias, Mina, Cuesta, Machado; Uribe, Lerma; J. Arias, Rodriguez, Diaz; Cordoba
Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Velazquez, Balbuena, Gomez, Alonso; Villasanti, Cubas, Almiron; Sosa, Bareiro, Enciso
We say: Colombia 1-0 Paraguay
The Colombians are just as sharp defensively as Paraguay, and we believe their experience and momentum will be enough to grind out a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Belgium
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic
