Colombia 1-0 Qatar
A late header by Duvan Zapata won the points tonight in the Copa America clash at the Estadio Cicero Pompeu in Sau Paulo.
It took a long time coming as Colombia attacked from start to finish but Qatar defended valiantly, coming so close to another point after drawing with Paraguay earlier in the week. Carlos Queiroz’ side stunned Argentina in their opening fixture with a smash and grab 2-0 victory. That was one of the biggest Copa America results so far and confirmed Colombia as one of the tournament favourites.
And tonight they played like contenders, but Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez can be proud of his players who made their opponents work hard for a win, in a game they started as hot favourites at pre-match Colombia vs Qatar betting odds of 1.36.
Now the quarter finals beckon and Colombia is looking in good shape.
Highlights of the game
It was all Colombia in the opening exchanges and Spurs centre back Davinson Sanchez rose highest to meet a James Rodriguez corner, but headed just to the right of the post. Then Sanchez almost created the opening goal with a clever through ball which Roger Martinez latched onto and slotted into the net, but the striker had strayed marginally offside.
Martinez then turned creator and crossed for James Rodriguez to head towards goal, but his effort went agonisingly wide. And then Qatar keeper Saad Al Sheeb made a smart save to deny Juan Cuadrado, who took a pass from William Tesillo and fired low towards the bottom corner. Duvan Zapata was the next to head wide from a James Rodriguez corner as Colombia continued to press.
Colombia keeper David Ospina was called into action for the first time, on 34 minutes, when Akram Afif tried his luck from distance.
Zapata had a shot blocked and then he found John Medina in space but his effort flew narrowly wide.
Striker Almoez Ali is Qatar’s most exciting player, scoring nine goals in the Asian Cup, and a screamer in Qatar’s opening game against Paraguay, but the 22 year old was a passenger in the first half as he watched most of the action at the other end of the pitch, but somehow his side went in level at half time.
Queiroz made a change at the start of the second half, bringing on Santiago Arias to replace Medina. Colombia continued to press, and thought they’d won a penalty but VAR cancelled out the referees’ decision.
Qatar began to show a little more ambition and Ospina was called upon again, just after the hour, when Almoez Ali put in Akram Afif and he shot from distance. Then Abdelaziz Hatim fired just wide from a tight angle.
Saad Al Sheeb made a super save to deny Martinez after good work from James Rodriguez. And Yerry Mina came close to breaking the deadlock with a header but Saad was equal to it again.
Queiroz tried his luck again, on 75 minutes, bringing on Luis Diaz to replace Martinez, and then Ramadel Falcao came close and Mateus Uribe had a shot blocked as Colombia searched for that elusive goal.
And then finally, finally…it came! James Rodriguez crossed and Duvan Zapata planted a powerful header into the top right corner.
Key statistics
In a first half dominated by Colombia the favourites did everything but score; they had 71 per cent possession and six shots with two on target, while Qatar had just a single pot shot at Ospina’s goal.
That pattern continued and in the end Colombia ran out worthy winners, making it six wins from seven.
This is Qatar’s first appearance in this competition and they’ve done themselves credit in the eyes of SBOBET Copa America fans. They only have one point but came close to another tonight against a very good side.
What’s next?
Colombia faces Paraguay in the last Group B clash and that will give Queiroz team a chance to make it three wins from three. Paraguay let two points slip against Qatar and have a big uphill battle to qualify.
Qatar has its biggest test yet, against an Argentina side desperate to win some silverware after over a quarter of a century without, and with arguably the best player in the world, Lionel Messi. Argentina has already lost one game and they will be determined to avoid losing another.
That might be one step too far for Sanchez’ team and it could get messy for Qatar.
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