Reporting from Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
World Cups are about timing, and Colombia is having a moment.
A 1-0 victory over Jamaica on Tuesday clinched Las Cafeteras a berth in the quarterfinals of a major international tournament for the first time. They are, by unlikely measures even for boldest of predictions, the last team standing at the 2023 World Cup from all of the Americas.
“We came here to play seven finals,” said forward Catalina Usme, who scored the winning goal for Colombia on Tuesday. She continued: “We know we are dreaming big, but we can pull it off. We can do it.”
Welcome to the new world order. Colombia advanced out of Group H after a shocking victory over world No. 2 Germany, who went home in the group stage for the first time. Colombia’s opponents in the Round of 16, Jamaica, had not conceded a goal in 321 minutes prior to Usme’s strike. The Reggae Girlz held France and Brazil to scoreless draws, eliminated the latter heavyweight along the way.
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