Colombia's James Rodriguez (Photo : Reuters)
Crowd-darling Colombia will face Venezuela to open Group C matches in the 2015 Copa America to be held at the Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua, Chile on June 14, Sunday.
Colombia is one of the teams to watch out for in this year's Copa America. Analysts have suggested that they might compete with Argentina, Brazil, or Chile in the final and a top four finish is inevitable.
They had been Copa America champions just once in 2001, interrupting the 32-year championship dominion of Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina.
Jose Pekerman's squad is bannered by Real Madrid attacking midfielder James Rodriguez, currently one of the best football players in the world. They boast off one of the best offenses in the tournament with Rodriguez, team captain Radamel Falcao, and forwards Teofilo Gutierrez, Jackson Martinez, and Carlos Bacca, as per Sportskeeda.
With the team's potent offensive firepower, one area of concern for coach Pekerman is their defense. With the recent retirement of Mario Yepes, Los Cafeteros have a gaping hole in the backfield. But experienced goalie David Ospina could provide ample resistance when needed.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan team is noticeably undermanned when it comes to star-power, according to Bleacher Report. Juan Arango and Salomón Rondón are the only familiar names in its lineup. Noel Sanvicente's entire group is already old and slowing down especially the backfield, which looks worse than Colombia's.
They are consistently one of the worst teams in Copa America history, but some semblance of light is seen as they are steadily improving in the past few years.
The prediction is Los Cafeteros over La Vinotinto, 5-1. The wide score is due to Venezuela being never known as a football nation. Colombia's defense is suspect, but they have Rodriguez.
