Colombia’s “Europhobia” — is it really not good enough against top European teams?

Colombia has a statistic worth paying close attention to: in World Cup history, they have played European teams 11 times in total. What does the record look like? Not ideal.

In their last two friendly matches, Colombia lost to France and Croatia one after the other. When facing European technical-style teams, Colombia’s midfield control often becomes a problem. Portugal is a typical European technical-style team— the midfield pairing of B费 and B席 is one of the top-tier setups in the whole world.

But guys, historical data can sometimes be misleading. Although Colombia’s record against European teams is generally average, most of the European teams they’ve faced have been top-level powerhouses—France, Germany, England. Losing to teams like these isn’t embarrassing, and it doesn’t mean they can’t beat Portugal.

What’s more, Colombia’s tactical style has changed a lot over the past few years. After Lorenzo took over, the team’s defensive discipline and tactical execution improved significantly. They are no longer the Colombia that “only knows how to attack and can’t defend.” Today’s Colombia can defend and counterattack, and can hold their own against teams of any style.

The label “Europhobia” may already be outdated.

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