Colombia broke a 32-year curse to beat Paraguay in a dress rehearsal for the teams’ opening game in the Copa America. A first-half header by Aquivaldo Mosquera (pictured) and a late strike by Alvaro Dominguez ensured the home side beat their rivals for the first time since 1975.
The teams will meet again in Maracaibo when the Copa America kicks off in June.
The win comes four days after Colombia swept aside Switzerland 3-1 in Miami, U.S.A. with goals from Edixon Perea, Jhon Viafara and Andres Chitiva, but coach Jorge Luis Pinto is refusing to get carried away with the result.
“The team is still not perfect, but I think we were resounding in our play,” he told reporters after the Paraguay game.
TEAMS
Colombia: Miguel Calero, Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, Amaranto Perea, Aquivaldo Mosquera, Javier Arizala (Jair Benmtez, 80), John Viafara, Fabian Vargas (Jorge Banguero, 85), Alvaro Dominguez (Jaime Castrillon, 88), David Ferreira (McNelly Torres, 71), Luis Gabriel Rey (Hugo Rodallega, 57), Edixon Perea (Andres Chitiva, 57). Scorers: Mosquera 32, Dominguez 86.
Paraguay: Aldo Bobadilla, Rubin Maldonado, Denis Caniza, Claudio Morel, Carlos Bonet, Delio Toledo (Aureliano Torres, 62), Edgar Barreto (Christian Bogado, 76), Christian Riveros (Edgar Gonzalez, 29), Jose Montiel (Pedro Chavez, 69), Salvador Cabaqas, Roque Santa Cruz.
