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Colombia classified the World Cup! When writing these lines, Colombia occupies the fifth position, tied with Paraguay, sixth. While in previous World Cups we would be playing the repechage, thanks to the 48 quotas of 2026 we are already World Cups. And it is that Colombia has not played well more than a year ago. The decisive match against Bolivia was, soccer, a poor show, where a broken, uncoordinated team and with little tactical and technical work were seen.
With ten months ahead, it is worth remembering the case of Brazil in 1970. Saldanha, who directed the qualifiers, intended to take Pelé, and Zagallo ended up directing in Mexico. With players “who could not play together”, such as Pelé, Tostao, Rivelino and Gerson, Zagallo rewritten the story. James and Quintero will not be those monsters, but they are our cracks, why can't they play together?
We have been in seven World Cups. In 62 we were a minor team and it is almost natural to have received 11 goals in the three games we played. Although at the time we did not understand it, the draw with the USSR showed that there was potential in our football. We arrived after 28 years of frustrations to Italy. Overcoming the first round was a success, which was achieved, but on the ground, the best Colombian team that has played a World Cup after 2014 had everything to play that quarter -final match against England. It could not, but it was fulfilled.
Then, 94 and 98 were two failures, eliminated in the first round. The history of 94 is known, with external influences that ended in the greatest shame of our football. In 98, in a group with England and Romania, our coach, Bolillo Gómez said that Colombia was not to beat Europeans. Between the cut mentality, the age of one of our stars and the indiscipline of others, we never had the opportunity.
2018 is our greatest success. We play from you to you for a quota to the semifinals against Brazil, the host. But the tara we have against Brazilians confirmed the inevitable: with Brazil we had to lose. In 2018 we passed the first round, we fight until the end and the stubbornness or ignorance of continuing to believe that the penalties are a lottery eliminated us before an England that had lost all the batches of penalties in World Cups since 1990.
In 2026? The story and the amount of low -level selections that will be forced to pass the first round. Even with this football level, the minimum is to be among the 16 best in the world, but we are tired of participating. From there, it is to dream of semifinals, final, titles …, objectives that demand a category coach, soccer players with some outstanding ones, an optimal internal environment and a pinch of luck. The coach is not demonstrating the necessary capacity, and would help us a world category; Two inputs that are not minor. There is time to work and make decisions.
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