00:00Leading the way for Colombia during this renaissance has been the evergreen James Rodriguez.
00:05In 2024, the veteran was named Copa America Player of the Tournament for steering his side to the decider.
00:14While he was still a teenager, James had already lifted trophies in Argentina and Portugal.
00:19By the age of 23, he had the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot in his collection.
00:27He went on to win silverware for fun at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but despite threatening, never managed to
00:34ascend to the heights of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
00:38And by 30, they traded in Europe for Qatar.
00:45The man set to inherit James' mantle as Colombia's chief attacking force is Luis Diaz.
00:50The dazzling forward is now with Bayern Munich, after capturing the hearts of the fans of Liverpool.
00:59I'm living a dream.
01:02I'm living a dream.
01:04Things are going my way, and that's what we've always worked toward to achieve great things.
01:11Those goals that you always planned for in your head.
01:14You always dream of qualifying, of winning trophies, of all these great moments, but you never think that it's going
01:20to be like it is.
01:24But I'm very happy and very grateful to God for the opportunity to be able to qualify for a World
01:29Cup, to be able to qualify for my first World Cup.
01:33I'm very emotional, very happy for what the team did, because we deserved it.
01:38We've been working hard through these qualifiers, and this is our reward.
01:49David Ospina is the most capped player in Colombian history.
01:53But the veteran Gloverman's place in the team now looks to have been taken by long-time understudy Camillo Vargas.
02:00Although sweeper-keeper Kevin Meyer has also impressed Lorenzo.
02:11Lorenzo's flat-back four is marshaled by centre-halves of the highest quality.
02:15Davinson Sanchez and John Lukumi, with the imposing Yeri Mina waiting in the wings.
02:24The midfield industry is provided by Richard Rios and Jefferson Lama.
02:36That solid base allows Colombia the freedom to unleash the quality of James and Diaz, as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers
02:43schemer John Arias.
02:47What might be lacking is a focal point up front.
02:51Diaz was the team's leading goalscorer during qualifying, cutting in from the wing.
02:56While no individual scored more than two goals at the most recent Copa America.
03:04Sporting's Luis Suarez is emerging as a reliable all-round option.
03:08But John Cordoba is also likely to see plenty of action.
03:13Wild card John Duran offers a thrilling option off the bench.
03:21Colombia have been ranked inside FIFA's top 20 for well over a decade.
03:26Their recent long unbeaten run and Copa America's silver medal demonstrates their potential to go deep at a major tournament.
03:35And with the star power of Diaz and James to call upon,
03:39it is shaping up to be a World Cup with the potential to match the colour and excitement in the
03:44stands.
03:44A squad stadium's will be金 аб comum for now as the Betis teams.
03:46We'll be lucky to have a get there as a costume at the本 ol'
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