Los Cafeteros will be competing in their fifth World Cup Finals in their history this summer in Brazil. The furthest round they have ever reached is the second round, which could well be beaten this year.
It is fair to say that the Colombians have produced fantastic players throughout the years but the team could just not perform on the world stage.
The first time Colombia successfully qualified for the World Cup Finals was in 1962 in fellow South American country Chile. They qualified by beating Peru in a two game shoot-out which they won 2-1 (a 1-0 home win and a 1-1 draw in Peru). However the Tricolor did not have the debutant experience that they were hoping for finishing bottom from a group with Uruguay, Yugoslavia and Soviet Union.
Their only convincing result was a shock 4-4 draw with reigning European champions the Soviet Union, which today is still one of the greatest matches the Colombians have been involved in. The favourites raced to a 3-0 lead by the 11th minute but an amazing comeback followed as Colombia netted four past a player considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers ever – Lev Yashin.
The next time Los Cafeteros qualified for the World Cup was in 1990, the start of their Golden generation, where they qualified for three successive World Cup tournaments and where their greatest and most capped player Carlos Valderrama showcased his talent.
The 1990 World Cup in Italy saw the Colombians reach the furthest stage in their history as they reached the Round of 16. They finished third from a group with Germany, Yugoslavia and United Arab Emirates although they achieved a draw with eventual winners of the tournament Germany.
As there were only six groups instead of eight, Colombia progressed to the next round as one of the four teams that finished third in their group with the highest points accumulation.
The second round provided them with the tricky task of playing Cameroon, the team with the corner flag-dancing Roger Milla who would later dump them out of the tournament.
The game finished 0-0, but in extra time Rene Higuita had a moment of madness that would virtually knock Los Cafeteros out of the competition. The goalkeeper was not a stranger to mad moments, but this time it was vital.
‘El Loco’ dithered with the ball around 35 yards from goal, and Roger Milla took the ball from his feet and the 38-year-old rolled the ball home. The striker doubled the Indomitable Lions lead later on and the Colombians pulled one back but could not equalize.
In 1994 Colombia reached the World Cup finals after finishing top of the CONMEBOL qualifying group which included a magnificent 5-0 win over Argentina. The Colombians did not reach their potential at the world stage though as they finished bottom of a group with Romania, Switzerland and hosts USA.
After Colombia lost their first match to Romania, they knew they had to beat USA to have a chance of progressing. This match wouldn’t be remembered for the football though, more a mistake by Andres Escobar that would have tragic consequences for the defender. The Colombians lost the match and although they beat Switzerland in the final game it wasn’t enough and they headed back to South America.
France 1998 is the last time Los Cafeteros qualified for the World Cup Finals before this summer in Brazil. Colombia finished third in qualifying and headed to Europe for the tournament pitted against England, Tunisia and Romania once again.
Colombia went out at the group stage again after only scoring a solitary goal in the 1-0 win over Tunisia. They lost 1-0 against Romania and 2-0 against England, resulting in another disappointing turn out from the Colombians after they went out at the group stage in the previous tournament.
A lot is expected of the current crop of players that the Tricolor have at their disposal and the fans are hoping that they can beat their current record of reaching the final 16, something which could turn out to be a possible outcome.
