Luis Diaz helped Colombia earn a 3-0 win over Bolivia ahead of the Copa America.
Luis Diaz scored as Colombia geared up for the Copa America with a 3-0 win over Bolivia in their final friendly.
Los Cafeteros head into the tournament in impressive form, having also defeated host nation the USA 5-1 last week. And their latest triumph over Bolivia was evidence that they have a chance of being crowned South American champions.
Diaz goes into the Copa America as Colombia’s talisman. The Liverpool winger netted his country’s third goal in the 41st minute when he latched on to Déiver Machado’s pass and wriggled past a couple of defenders before finishing into the far corner.
Certainly, Reds supporters will be hoping that the 27-year-old returns to Anfield unscathed once the competition is over. But they were given a scare as Diaz was on the end of what El Pais described a ‘brutal kick’ from Bolivia’s Hector Cuellar on 68 minutes. That led to a mass brawl on the pitch, with Bolivia’s Daniel Munoz and Colombia’s César Menacho being sent off. However, Cuellar only received a yellow card for his challenge on Diaz.
Meanwhile, ESPN wrote: “The Colombian national team won 3-0 against Bolivia in the last friendly of the FIFA date when a kick by Héctor Cuéllar on Luis Díaz caused the game to go out of control in the 68th minute.
“Luis Díaz was one of Colombia’s figures and had scored one of the three goals. The Tricolor was vastly superior and demonstrated it in all aspects. When he entered the final 20 minutes, Héctor Cuéllar committed a very harsh infraction on Lucho and generated the brawl of the moment, which ended with two red cards.
“The Bolivian defender went all out on Díaz, who was on his back running towards the ball. The ’22’ from Bolivia went from behind and scissored the Tricolor attacker’s feet, leaving him on the floor with clear signs of pain.”
Diaz continued for a brief period before being subbed in the 75th minute. His performance impressed with AS commenting: “Luis Díaz: Key, talented, explosive. Adjectives fall short for a new great game from Lucho. In fact, the first goal came from an individual play of his that later fell to Jhon Arias. He had his reward when, after an assist from Machado, he crossed the goal and managed to score the third of the season. He was substituted after receiving several hard fouls.”
Colombia’s Copa America campaign starts against Paraguay on Monday 24 June while they will also face Brazil and Costa Rica in Group D.
