Colombia Remains Unbeaten in World Cup Qualifiers Despite Goalless Draw with Chile

Colombia drew 0-0 against Chile in the second match of the South American group in Santiago. In an uneven match, the home team had a goal disallowed for offside, while the Colombian forwards couldn’t be decisive in front of the goal in a lackluster encounter that ended with Yerry Mina’s injury.

Until a few hours before the game, there was suspense regarding the possibility of postponing the match due to the poor condition of the playing field, which had been heavily affected by rain and previous concerts held at the stadium. The Colombian Football Federation had expressed concern about the state of the pitch.

However, the match ended up being played and had a distinguished spectator in the stands, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who had traveled to Chile to participate in the events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the coup in the Andean country on September 11th.

Little play and a share of points

Considering the conditions of the pitch and Chile’s recent defeat against Uruguay, the result is not bad for both teams, especially for the Colombians, who were satisfied with the point earned in a match in which they never quite felt comfortable. A Chilean team without accuracy and a Colombia without real opportunities to tilt the game in their favor still gave Colombia a valuable away point.

The game was highly contested, with both teams putting up a fight, with the home team looking for a goal but failing to trouble the Colombian goal beyond the disallowed offside goal, which was well-defended by Camilo Vargas.

Futile local dominance

After a few initial minutes where Colombia controlled the ball more, the home team took the lead in terms of gameplay. Chile fielded a team full of changes but with Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sánchez starting.

Meanwhile, Colombia introduced Jorge Carrascal into the lineup, replacing the injured Juan Guillermo Cuadrado from the previous match. Carrascal was the Colombian player who had shown the most promise in the match against Venezuela.

Chile had its first dangerous chance in the 13th minute with a powerful long-range shot from Érick Pulgar, which Camilo Vargas handled well. From that point onwards, control and even dominance shifted to the Chilean side, which also managed to rile up the crowd during moments of greater intensity under Eduardo Berizzo’s direction.

Ten minutes later, Yerry Mina had to leave the field due to injury, and was replaced by Davinson Sánchez. Just half an hour into the match, Chile had the clearest chance of the first half when Ben Brereton managed to control a tricky ball in the Colombian box, which, after a pass to Echeverría, ultimately hit the side netting with the Colombian goalkeeper already beaten.

Substitutes didn’t provide solutions

The second half began similarly until the Colombian coach decided to bring on James Rodriguez and 19-year-old forward John Jader Durán, replacing an uninspired Jorge Carrascal and Rafael Santos Borré. The visitors’ play didn’t improve significantly, although Colombia had more control of the game than in the first half.

The match progressed, and the draw remained on the scoreboard at the Santiago Stadium. Néstor Lorenzo, the Colombian coach, made more substitutions. In the 70th minute, with just 20 minutes remaining, he brought in Juan Fernando Quintero and Luis Sinisterra, replacing Arias and Luis Díaz, the latter of whom was cautioned with a yellow card.

Chile’s disallowed goal

Precisely when Colombia was pushing harder, a header by Maripán, who managed to connect with the ball in a free-kick situation delivered by Alexis Sánchez, pierced Camilo Vargas’s goal in the 79th minute. However, Chile’s joy was short-lived, and the Chilean goal was correctly disallowed for offside as the forward received the ball from Sánchez.

Shortly after, with only one minute left in regular time, Chile had another chance through Valdés, who shot in front of Vargas after another defensive error from the Colombian side. Miraculously, it did not end up as a goal.

Colombia remains unbeaten with 4 points

From what was seen in Santiago, the best outcome for Colombia was the result. The Colombian team remains unbeaten after two rounds in the World Cup 2026 qualifying stage, with one win and one draw. However, there are still issues to address, such as reviewing the defensive errors that could lead to setbacks for Lorenzo’s team.

The Colombian team is still near the top of the rankings. After this second round, Colombia occupies third place with 4 points, only surpassed by Argentina and Brazil, each with 6 points. On the other hand, Chile is in eighth place with only 1 point, which they earned today against Colombia.

Colombia’s lineup for the match was as follows: Camilo Vargas; Daniel Muñoz, Yerry Mina (Dávinson Sánchez 22’), Jhon Lucumi, Deiver Machado; Jefferson Lerma, Matheus Uribe, Jorge Carrascal (James Rodriguez 57’); Jhon Arias (Juan Fernando Quintero 71’), Rafael Santos Borre (Jhon Duran 57’), Luis Diaz (Luis Sinisterra 71’).