Everything you need to know about Colombia

Here, Press Association Sport details everything you need to know about the South Americans.

World Cup record

This is Colombia’s second successive World Cup finals campaign, taking them to six overall, and the previous one was their most successful as they reached the quarter-finals of Brazil 2014. The run finished with a 2-1 defeat against the hosts after Los Cafeteros had topped their group and then defeated Uruguay in the last 16. The only other time they made it out of their group was in 1990, when they suffered a last-16 loss to Cameroon after extra-time. They fell at the first hurdle in 1962, 1994 and 1998.

Former greats

Colombia’s most capped player, with 111 appearances, is Carlos Valderrama, the midfielder with the distinctive mass of hair who captained them during the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups. Other prominent names from the past include former Newcastle forward Faustino Asprilla, scorer of 20 goals in 57 internationals between 1993 and 2001, and Rene Higuita, the eccentric goalkeeper best remembered by England fans for the famous ‘scorpion kick’ he produced against the Three Lions at Wembley in 1995.

Current danger men

The top scorer in the history of the Colombia team is the man spearheading their attack at this tournament, Radamel Falcao – he has netted 30 times in 76 caps. Like winger Juan Cuadrado, the striker had an underwhelming spell in the Premier League but has shown many a time he can be a major threat. The star of the side is 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez, but the playmaker has had injury struggles at Russia 2018 and it has been unclear what involvement he is likely to have in Tuesday’s game. Midfielder Juan Quintero and defender Yerry Mina have caught the eye in Colombia’s group-stage matches.

Manager

Jose Pekerman, 68, had two years as boss of his native Argentina which concluded with a loss on penalties to hosts Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup. He then took charge of Colombia in 2012 and having overseen them qualifying for their first World Cup finals in 16 years and the impressive showing in Brazil, he signed a new deal to stay on until 2018.

World Cup 2018 so far

Colombia lost their Group H opener against Japan 2-1 as Carlos Sanchez gave away an early penalty, converted by Shinji Kagawa, with a handball that earned him a red card. Quintero equalised, and Yuya Osako netted a late winner. They bounced back with a 3-0 victory over Poland as Mina, Falcao and Cuadrado scored. Rodriguez, having only played as a substitute in the previous game, lasted the full duration and impressed. He was then forced off in the first half as Colombia beat Senegal 1-0 and finished top of the pool, with Mina scoring again.

Previous meetings with England

Colombia have played England six times, most notably in a group game at the 1998 World Cup won 2-0 by England as David Beckham netted his first international goal. The first encounter was a friendly in Bogota in 1970, a 4-0 victory for England, and in 1988 there was a 1-1 draw at Wembley in the Rous Cup in which Gary Lineker’s opener was cancelled out by a goal from Andres Escobar. The Colombia defender was later murdered in the aftermath of the 1994 World Cup, reportedly as retaliation for having scored an own goal which contributed to the team’s elimination. Then there was the 0-0 draw that saw Higuita perform his memorable move, and in the most recent meeting a Michael Owen hat-trick secured England a 3-2 friendly win in the United States in 2005.

Geography

Colombia’s population in 2018 is estimated by the United Nations at 49,465,000.

A nation famous for…

The team’s nickname Los Cafeteros translates as ‘The Coffee Growers’ in English, a nod to one of the country’s most famous exports, and emeralds are something else it is well known for. Singer Shakira is among its most high-profile natives, and outside of football, Colombian sporting stars include cyclist Nairo Quintana and ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya. A figure of great notoriety from the country was Pablo Escobar, the drug lord known as the “King of Cocaine” who died in 1993 and whose life is serialised in the Netflix drama ‘Narcos’.