Colombia opened up their Copa America participation on Sunday with a narrow 1-0 victory over Ecuador in Group A play thanks to what may end up being the goal of the tournament. Los Cafeteros were far from convincing and were outshot by Gustavo Alfaro’s side, but a moment of magic in the first half was enough to secure the three points, though they needed VAR in the end.
A perfectly executed set piece, started and finished by Boca Juniors midfielder Edwin Cardona, gave Reinaldo Reuda’s team all they needed on the night. Here is the set piece, and watch how Cardona combines with his teammates with the ball ultimately falling to him in the heart of the box:
It was initially called offside, but VAR confirmed to ref Nestor Pitana that the goal was valid. It was one that had clearly been practiced countless times on the training ground. Executing it in a match is certainly more challenging, but Colombia made it look easy with the in-sync squad pulling off quite the golazo.
That victory puts Colombia in second place in Group A for the time being and also puts them well on their way to advancing to the quarterfinals. As for Ecuador, they should be fine assuming they can get three points on Sunday when they take on struggling Venezuela.