Riding an impressive unbeaten streak, Colombia have positioned themselves as 2024 Copa America title contenders and they meet Panama in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
After missing qualification to the 2022 World Cup, Los Cafeteros have been exceptional in this tournament, building themselves back into one of the most difficult South American opponents around.
Their 32-year-old star James Rodriguez has reinvented himself and is once again channeling his best from the creative days of old, as he leads all players at the Copa America with three assists.
Panama have a daunting task in front of them, having surprisingly qualified for the knockout stage at the expense of Gregg Berhalter and the United States, who fell to an early exit and Group C elimination.
The Sporting News is following Colombia vs. Panama live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
Colombia vs. Panama live score
Score (HT) | Goal scorers | |
Colombia | 3 | Cordoba (8′), J. Rodriguez (15′, pen), Diaz (41′) |
Panama | 0 |
Venue: State Farm Stadium (Glendale, AZ)
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Starting lineups:
Colombia (4-3-3, right to left): 12. Vargas (GK) โ 21. Munoz, 23. D. Sanchez, 2. Cuesta, 17. Mojica โ 6. Rios, 15. Uribe, 11. J. Arias โ 10. J. Rodriguez, 24. Cordoba, 7. Diaz.
Panama (5-4-1, right to left): 22. Mosquera (GK) โ 23. Murillo, 24. Farina, 3. Cordoba, 25. Miller, 15. E. Davis โ 2. Blackman, 6. Martinez, 14. Welch, 10. Barcenas โ 17. Fajardo.
Colombia vs. Panama live updates, highlights from Copa America 2024
HALFTIME: Colombia 3-0 Panama
Colombia are in complete control, and well on their way to a semifinal berth. They got two early as James Rodriguez became the first player in Copa America history to score and assist a goal in the opening 15 minutes of a match (since assist tracking began in 2011), and then he assisted a second as Luis Diaz put them three out in front.
Panama had one good spell after falling two goals behind, but the Diaz goal put an abrupt stop to that spirited effort. Colombia have made sure this one’s not in doubt, and it would take a Herculean comeback for Panama to even have a sniff.
45th min: The game’s first yellow card is shown to Colombia midfielder Mateus Uribe for a bad tackle on Cristian Martinez.
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WHAT A GOAL THIS WAS ๐จ๐ด
Luis Dรญaz wasn’t missing this ๐ pic.twitter.com/7NE63Aj6fD
โ FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 6, 2024
39th min: James Rodriguez is down on the ground rolling around in agony after a challenge by Jovani Welch. Colombia want a booking for Welch, but there’s such incidental contact that nothing is rightly given. James is fine and comes back onto the pitch after a short time on the touchline for treatment.
36th min: Panama have a free-kick from a dangerous position about 25 yards out in a central position after Jose Cordoba is fouled out top of the semi-circle. Edgar Barcenas blasts it straight into the wall.
34th min: Panama midfielder Jovani Welch ends up with a surprising amount of space to shoot while on the ball about 35 yards from goal, but his effort is disappointing and one-hops into the safe arms of Camilo Vargas.
28th min: Chance, Colombia! Panama’s recent push forward has been bright for the most part, but it’s also leaving spaces in behind. Colombia nearly take advantage, as Jhon Arias finds himself in a two-on-two situation, and rifles a shot that’s seeking the top-left corner but is deflected out for a corner.
23rd min: Panama have had an exceptional response after the two early Colombia goals. They’ve turned on the jets and are troubling the Colombia back line on numerous occasions. They’ve started pressing hard in midfield and are forcing a number of turnovers as a result.
18th min: Chance, Panama! WHOA! What a chance for the underdogs to pull one back! From a free-kick about 30 yards out, it’s directed on net by Roderick Miller, and the headed effort hits the woodwork! Incredibly, the ball redirects along the goal mouth, and is absolutely on a line for the back of the net…but somehow goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, who was rooted to the spot on the header, scrambles awkwardly to clear the chance!
The goalkeeper knew NOTHING about it, but was in the right place at the right time to make an absurd save! The incident cannot be checked to see if the ball went over the line, as CONMEBOL is not using goal-line technology at the Copa America and there are no cameras along the goal line…which seems an odd decision for sure.
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SO CLOSE
Did this go over the line for Panama? ๐ง pic.twitter.com/PzAwr9JVWk
โ FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 6, 2024
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It’s a clear penalty, and VAR confirms the decision! It took ages for the review to take place, but eventually, it’s a penalty indeed! James Rodriguez steps up to take, as the captain of the side, and…GOAL! COLOMBIA!
You knew he wasn’t missing with that chance, and he roofs it into the top-right corner! Absolutely thumped!
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James Rodrรญguez with a BEAUTY ๐ฏ
Colombia is absolutely flying in the first half ๐ฅ pic.twitter.com/3TKidFzzQx
โ FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 6, 2024
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COLOMBIA TAKES THE LEAD ๐จ๐ด
That didn’t take long โก๏ธ pic.twitter.com/fTdgdnBfgd
โ FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 6, 2024
6th min: There’s an early flashpoint as Luis Diaz hits the deck under a challenge from Edgardo Farina, who smacked Diaz in the face while shielding the ball. These are often incidents that are difficult for the defenders to prevent, but Farina was reckless there with his body positioning.
Farina is lucky not to get a yellow card, as his arm was all over Diaz’s face, and the Liverpool man is slow to get up, but does not have any blood to deal with.
Kickoff: They’re under way at State Farm Stadium in Glendale! James Rodriguez looks to captain his side into the Copa America semifinals, where the winner will meet either Brazil or Uruguay.
Colombia vs. Panama: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more
15 mins to kickoff: One under-the-radar player for Colombia has been midfielder Richard Rios, who plays for Brazilian giants Palmeiras and has just 10 international caps at age 24. He was the leader in the 2024 Copa America group stage with 12 completed dribbles, including eight against Paraguay, with a 75 percent success rate. This match could get him noticed by European clubs if he continues to have that same success!
ร #DiaDePalmeiras na @CopaAmerica ๐ช
Hoje tem Endrick e Richard Rรญos em campo pelas Seleรงรตes de Brasil e Colรดmbia, respectivamente! Em busca da vaga, meus craques! ๐#AvantiPalestra pic.twitter.com/41l9hz08A8
โ SE Palmeiras (@Palmeiras) July 6, 2024
30 mins to kickoff: Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo has been a revelation for Los Cafeteros, hauling them from the doldrums of 2021 and into a revival.
Lorenzo is relatively inexperienced, in just his second senior managerial job after debuting with Peruvian club Melgar before joining Colombia. Yet he didn’t come out of nowhere โ Lorenzo was an assistant with the Colombia national team for seven years, which is an eternity, especially in South America.
Since taking charge of Colombia, Lorenzo has not suffered a single defeat in 23 matches, with the side on a 26-game unbeaten streak.
Four of eight remaining coaches at Copa America were all born in Argentina. Manager factory ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท
๐ฆ๐ท Lionel Scaloni
๐บ๐พ Marcelo Bielsa
๐จ๐ด Nestor Lorenzo
๐ป๐ช Fernando Batista pic.twitter.com/6pi3Cze84Fโ ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 4, 2024
45 mins to kickoff: Panama captain Anibal Godoy is not with the side at the 2024 Copa America, leaving the national team down a player on their roster. The 34-year-old with 141 caps was injured in the warm-up fixtures, and Panama swapped him with Xelaju defender Harold Cummings as an injury replacement.
Except, then Cummings decided to turn down the call-up after Panama had already registered him as part of their roster. Because Cummings was not injured, he could not then be replaced himself, and thus Panama were left a man down for the competition. An unfortunate and wacky situation all-around.
1 hour to kickoff: The lineups are in for both sides. It’s as expected for Colombia, with just two like-for-like changes. Mateus Uribe comes into midfield to spell the suspended Jefferson Lerma, while Johan Mojica returns to the XIf at left-back for Deiver Machado.
For Panama, there’s just one surprise as Roderick Miller, who plays for Azerbaijan club Turan Tovuz, takes over at center-back for Carlos Harvey.
1 hour 15 mins to kick: Luis Diaz is hoping a win here could potentially see him match up against his Liverpool teammate Darwin Nunez in the semifinals, as long as Nunez and Uruguay do their part in the second match of the day against Brazil.
Luis Dรญaz picked his spot… ๐ฅต#UEL pic.twitter.com/Z40yepnOl1
โ UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) July 6, 2024
1 hour 30 mins to kick: Missing for Panama is midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla, who is serving the second of his two-game suspension for a truly hideous challenge against Christian Pulisic of the United States. Carrasquilla wound up and hacked Pulisic right in the shin late and intentionally, a truly dirty play.
Another look at the red card called on Adalberto Carrasquilla for this tackle on Pulisic ๐ฅ pic.twitter.com/pMUrqsOjcM
โ FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2024
His absence wasn’t an issue for Panama against lowly Bolivia, but it’ll be a major issue here against Brazil. His creativity will be sorely missed, having created five chances in his two games at the tournament, connecting on 96 of 108 passes, an 89% success rate.
1 hour 45 mins to kick: Coming into the 2024 Copa America, there were questions about whether 32-year-old James Rodriguez was even a starter for Colombia. He’s put those questions to bed emphatically, as his three assists and 14 chances created both lead the Copa America field of players.
James Rodriguez has created more chances than any other player at Copa America (11) ๐ฏ๐จ๐ด
Still cooking at 32 years old ๐จโ๐ณ๐ท pic.twitter.com/kRD8dIy3yX
โ LiveScore (@livescore) July 4, 2024
2 hours before kickoff: Welcome to The Sporting News’ coverage of Colombia vs. Panama in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Copa America. Colombia are in the midst of a 26-game unbeaten run that dates back an incredible two years, all the way to early 2022 when they fell short of World Cup qualification. Since that time, they’ve been unbeatable, as head coach Nestor Lorenzo builds them back to being a CONMEBOL contender.
26 GAMES UNBEATEN
Colombia draw Brazil 1-1 to win Group D ๐จ๐ด pic.twitter.com/Rqjr2hLMhk
โ B/R Football (@brfootball) July 3, 2024
Colombia vs. Panama kickoff time
Date | Kickoff time | |
USA/Canada | Sat, Jul. 6 | 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT |
UK | Sat, Jul. 6 | 11 p.m. BST |
Australia | Sun, Jul. 6 | 8 a.m. AEST |
India | Sun, Jul. 6 | 3:30 a.m. IST |
Colombia vs. Panama lineups, team news, starting 11
Colombia will be without Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma who is suspended after picking up a second yellow card of the tournament against Brazil in the group stage finale.
Bologna center-back Jhon Lucumi was injured in the opener blocking a shot by Julio Enciso, and has not played since. The injury is bad enough that defender Davinson Sanchez held up Lucumi’s jersey after scoring his goal against Costa Rica, dedicating the strike to his injured teammate.
In the twilight of his career, 32-year-old James Rodriguez started every game of the group stage for Colombia, with three assists so far.
Colombia starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Vargas (GK) โ Munoz, D. Sanchez, Cuesta, Mojica โ Rios, Uribe, J. Arias โ J. Rodriguez, Cordoba, Diaz.
Colombia subs (13): Montero (GK), Ospina (GK), Machado, S. Arias, Mina, Carrascal, Quintero, Castano, Duran, Sinisterra, Borja, Borre, Asprilla.
Panama are still without suspended captain Adalberto Carrasquilla who was given a straight red card late in the win over the United States for a truly hideous kick on Christian Pulisic. The incident was bad enough that he was given an additional game by CONMEBOL on top of the automatic one-game suspension for a red card.
Jose Fajardo had two goals in the group stage to lead Panama, starting at striker over Eduardo Guerrero. Goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera has not kept a clean sheet, but head coach Thomas Christensen refused to make a change to the more experienced Luis Mejia.
Panama starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Mosquera (GK) โ Murillo, Farina, Cordoba, Miller, E. Davis โ Blackman, C. Martinez, Welch, Barcenas โ Fajardo.
Panama subs (12): Samudio (GK), Mejia (GK), Anderson, Valencia, Ayarza, Harvey, Yanis, Gondola, Anderson, Lenis, Guerrero, I. Diaz.
Colombia vs. Panama live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this 2024 Copa America match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
Region | TV | Streaming |
USA | FS1, TUDN, Univision | Fubo, Fox Sports app/website, TUDN app/website, ViX |
Canada | TSN4, RDS 2 | TSN+, RDS app |
UK | Premier Sports 1 | Premier Sports player |
Australia | โ | Optus Sport |
USA: This match will be televised in the United States on FS1, which can be streamed on Fubo. There is also a Spanish-language broadcast available on TUDN and Univision, two channels also accessible on Fubo. There is also a Spanish-language stream via ViX.
Canada: The Copa America can be viewed in Canada on TSN channels, while a French-language broadcast of this match is available on RDS.
Australia: The exclusive rights-holder of the Copa America in Australia is Optus Sport.
UK: The entirety of the 2024 Copa America can be found on Premier Sports 1, with streaming on Premier Sports player.
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