Luis Javier Suárez, Figure of Colombia in the 6-3 victory over Venezuela.
Photo: EFE – Ronald Peña R
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The last date of the South American Qualifiers towards the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada 2026 left a performance that few would have dared to forecast. Luis Javier Suárez was the great figure of Colombia with a historic poker that fed the tricolor celebration on a night full of emotions.
The 26 -year -old Samario striker and current Sporting player in Portugal became the first Colombian footballer who scored four goals in an official match on Tuesday. At the Maturín Monumental Stadium, a historic day lived. The game ended 6-3 in favor of the tricolor.
The story began to take shape in the first half, when the Colombian team needed to react. At the first minute Tlasco Segovia turned on the vinotinto illusion, but Yerry Mina, headed, signed the draw. However, Venezuela immediately recovered the lead when Josef Martínez took advantage of a rebound of Kevin Mier.
Néstor Lorenzo's team was looking for answers. Then Suárez appeared. At 39 minutes, Richard Ríos lifted a center to the area, Luis Díaz lowered the head ball and the samario, first intention, signed equality with an accurate auction. It was the first goal of his career with the selection shirt.
Already at the start of the second part, Suarez turned on the stadium again. James Rodríguez found him free from the left wing and handed him the ball. The attacker faced the center, got rid of the brand and defined cross to put the 2-1. It was already outlined as the figure of the party.
The attacker's confidence that emerged in Itagüí Lions, became prominent and, just ten minutes later, the triplet arrived: Lucho Díaz attended him with a deep pass, won Wilker Ángel in speed and resolved to the first stick, consolidating himself as the nightmare of the Vinotinto defense.
The ecstasy reached the 68th minute. Rivers overflowed on the left and launched a center that Suárez connected head to sign the partial 5-2 and seal a poker that will remain in the memory. Two minutes later, Lorenzo decided to replace him with Jhon Córdoba. The striker retired among the applause of his teammates.
Suárez's emergence not only meant his consecration as an unexpected scorer, but also offered a relief to the selection in a context of maximum pressure. In a tie that demanded answers, the samario emerged with goals, character and efficacy.
His name, until now secondary in the list of Colombian attackers, was enrolled in the history of the tricolor after signing one of the brightest individual actions of the tricolor in recent history and put pressure on Jhon Córdoba, his rival in the post of front center of the selection.
At the close of the commitment, Venezuela managed to cut distances after Solomon Rondón hunted a new rebound that left shit, but Córdoba also told Lorenzo that he also had what and signed the final 6-3 with which the tricolor won in Maturín.
Who is Luis Javier Suárez?
Like Radamel Falcao García, the most famous striker in the history of Colombian football, Luis Javier Suárez was born in Santa Marta. His first steps in professional football gave them in Leones de Itagüí, in the Colombian ascent, but he barely played a handful of matches.
In mid -2016 he went to Spain, with just 18 years, to play in the Granada subsidiary team. He did not score in his first season with the youth team, but already in 2017-18, when he was at Real Valladolid B, he could be released in the Iberian networks.
After defending the colors of Gimnàstic Tarragona and Real Zaragoza in the Second Division of Spanish football, he won a place in the first team of Granada, which during all that time was the owner of his pass. In the 2020-2021 season he premiered in LaLiga with the Andalusian team.
His projection did not go unnoticed and was summoned by Carlos Queiroz to the national team. He debuted in defeat 6-1 against Ecuador, which meant the departure of the Portuguese coach. He would have action with the selection again in 2022, at the close of the qualifiers towards Qatar, already with Reinaldo Rueda as a technician.
There was two seasons with Granada. He strengthened as headline and registered 15 goals in 75 presences. In mid -2022 he made the leap to a larger team, Marseille, which paid 10 million euros for its services. However, his stage in France lasted just six months.
He was assigned to Almeria in early 2023 and responded with goals, so much so that the managers of that team decided to buy it. Unfortunately, despite the fact that things were coming out on the court, a fracture of fibula cut off the impulse in his second year with the rojiblancos.
In those three months that he was out of the courts he could not help his team avoid the descent. Already recovered, he faced the 2024-25 season with the aim of reuniting with his best version and succeeded. The Colombian striker was the top scorer in the category.
Suarez registered 37 goals in 58 presences in the two and a half seasons that passed in Almeria. That performance caught the attention of Sporting in Portugal, who needed a scorer to replace the Swedish Viktor Gyokes and paid the Spanish team 22.2 million euros to keep his card.
In the middle of this year his return to the National Team was given. Néstor Lorenzo gave him minutes in the 0-0 draw against Peru, duel valid for date 15 of the South American qualifiers. He was close to being released as a scorer, but the stick told him no.
On the last date of the road to the United States, Mexico and Canada 2026 had the opportunity to be a starter and did not miss it. His goals not only allowed him to ratify the confidence Lorenzo put on him, but also helped another team, Bolivia, who beat Brazil 1-0 and qualified for the repechage.
“Very happy, waiting for a long time this opportunity. It has been given to me. It is a dream,” Suárez said at the end of his consecration party. He also talked about what comes for the World Cup next year. “You have to have the country together,” he added.
This Tuesday, in front of Venezuela, the samario not only said present on the scoreboard, but did it big, with a poker. Interestingly, the last time someone scored that same amount of goals in a tie was in November 2011, when another Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan, was the nightmare of the Chilean defense.
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