By Miguel Rapetti
06 Jul 2024, 22:27 PM EDT
The Colombian national team remains relentless and this Saturday equaled the best streak in its history after the resounding 5-0 win over Panama during the quarterfinals of the 2024 Copa América in the United States.
Colombia’s overwhelming victory not only meant that it qualified for the Copa América semifinals, where it will face the winner of Uruguay and Brazil, but also that it reached its 27th match undefeated, equaling the best unbeaten streak for the Cafeteros in their history.
Colombia’s 27 unbeaten runs have allowed them to emulate the team coached by Francisco Maturana and their unbeaten run between 1992 and 1994, when they had a streak of 13 wins and 14 draws.
However, the current form of Néstor Lorenzo’s team is even better than its predecessor, with a more impressive run that even began before June 2, 2022, the date on which the Argentine coach took over the bench.
Before Lorenzo’s arrival, Colombia had gone three games without losing and since then they have gone 24 games without a single defeat, adding a total of 21 wins and six draws.
During this season, they have faced great rivals such as Germany, Brazil and Spain, both in friendly matches and in official matches, and have still maintained their streak, with their last defeat corresponding to February 1, 2022 when they fell 1-0 against Argentina.
During the Copa America semifinals, Colombia is expected to risk an unbeaten streak that could mark a new historical record, if they win or draw.
Subsequently, if they manage to maintain their unbeaten record by winning the competition, their challenge will continue in the Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
If they continue their unbeaten streak and reach 30 games without losing, they will equal France and Ghana on the list of the most teams with active unbeaten streaks, but still far from Italy, which currently has 37 games without losing.
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