Colombia‘s unbeaten streak now stands at 24 games after they defeated Paraguay 2-1 in their opening Copa América Group D match on Monday in Houston thanks to assists from James Rodríguez.
Colombia won the match thanks to goals in the first half from Daniel Muñoz and Jefferson Lerma, who controlled most of the game; Paraguay’s lone goal came from Julio Enciso.
With their most recent setback coming from a 1-0 loss to Argentina in February 2022, Colombia had an amazing run of 19 wins and five ties since March 2022. This was their ninth straight victory.
In the 32nd minute, Munoz headed a cross from Rodriguez into the goal with skill to give Colombia the lead.
Ten minutes later, Captain Rodriguez received his second assist when he curled in a risky free-kick, and Jefferson Lerma‘s diving header beyond Paraguay goalkeeper Rodrigo Morínigo.
After halftime, Paraguay stepped up their game, and in the 69th minute, Enciso headed home a cross from Ramón Sosa.
In the 84th minute, Gustavo Velázquez appeared to have brought down Yerry Mina in the box, giving Colombia the impression that they had a penalty. However, the decision was overturned when the referee was instructed to examine the VAR monitor.
Colombia closed down and kept the door firmly closed during the seven minutes of second-half stoppage time, making it difficult for Paraguay to generate a meaningful scoring opportunity.
On Friday, both sides will be back on the pitch when Paraguay plays Brazil in Las Vegas and Colombia plays Costa Rica in Glendale, Arizona. Later on Monday, Brazil will play Costa Rica in California.
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