Paraguay have one final free-kick, but Romero's set-piece is slightly too high for Gomez to turn past Montero from inside the six-yard box!
90' +3
The referee indicates an additional six minutes at the end of the match for stoppages.
90' +2
NO PENALTY! The referee decides that Diaz went over easily, and fails to award a penalty to Colombia late in the match!
85'
W. Barrios enters the game and replaces E. Cardona.
Barrios replaces Cardona in Colombia's final change.
84'
UPDATE: Argentina has doubled their lead through Sergio Aguero which piles more misery onto Paraguay.
82'
Ó. Romero enters the game and replaces D. González.
Romero enters the match as Paraguay's final substitute. He takes the place of Gonzalez.
80'
With 10 minutes left in this match, and Argentina holding their 1-0 lead against Qatar in the other Group B tie, it looks unlikely that Berizzo will be able to get his team into the knock-out stages without a little help in tomorrow's fixtures. Paraguay have shown signs of great play in this tournament, but their inability to hold leads has seemingly caused their downfall.
78'
The free-kick comes to nothing as Paraguay manage to smuggle the ball out of their penalty area. The danger isn’t over however as they return possession to their opponents.
76'
Gonzalez jumps into a foul on James near the left corner flag, giving Colombia a free-kick in a dangerous position.
Minute
Description
74'
That could prove a very important point in the match should Paraguay gain some momentum heading into the final 15 minutes. They’ve shown precious little in the second half, however; nothing that would suggest that they can overturn the deficit.
68'
Fernandez has kept Paraguay in this match with his incredible reaction saves. The goalkeeper has made three saves this afternoon, and all of them have been from close range.
66'
D. Zapata enters the game and replaces R. Falcao.
Falcao removes the captain’s armband and passes it to James as he makes way for Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata.
64'
Dominguez floats a lovely ball to the edge of the penalty area for Gonzalez, who cuts inside and has a strike to the near post which goes just wide!
63'
J. Iturbe enters the game and replaces Rodrigo Rojas.
Paraguay make a substitution of their own as Rodrigo Rojas is recalled for Juan Iturbe.
58'
J. Rodríguez enters the game and replaces J. Cuadrado.
Colombia’s first switch comes two minutes before the hour as James comes in for Cuadrado.
57'
Arzamendia tries an early cross into the penalty area from the left, which fails to reach Cardozo as Lucumi clears it away.
55'
Cardona has the ball on the left and centres it to Lerma in space. The Bournemouth midfielder takes a touch to set himself before having a strike from a long way out which predictably rolls wide.
54'
Cardona tries a long ball down the line for Diaz, but Piris cuts across and intercepts the pass. The play isn’t over though as the Colombia winger continues his press - forcing the right-back to put it out of play for a Cafeteros throw-in near the corner flag.
50'
Cuadrado takes the set-piece to the penalty spot for Cardona, but it’s hit with too much pace as it gets by the midfielder and exits the penalty area.
49'
S. Arzamendia gets yellow.
Arzamendia bodychecks Arias on the right wing as the Colombia full-back was driving towards the byline. It’s a yellow card - the first of the game for Paraguay.
46'
C. Domínguez enters the game and replaces M. Rojas.
Matias Rojas is replaced at half-time by Dominguez.
Colombia get the match restarted from the kick-off!
45' +2
HALF-TIME: COLOMBIA 1-0 PARAGUAY.
45'
The fourth official indicates an additional two minutes for stoppages.
43'
Matias Rojas whips the free-kick in with a powerful left-foot curler, but it hits the wall and deflects out for a Paraguay corner.
42'
J. Lucumí gets yellow.
Almiron gets the better of Lucumi as he drives towards the penalty area, but Cristian Zapata comes across to boot the ball away. Almiron goes down after the play following a push, which prompts the referee to award a yellow card to Lucumi and a free-kick to Paraguay.
40'
Colombia fans are cheering out ‘Ole’ every time a pass is made, such is their dominance over Paraguay at the minute. Berizzo will no doubt be desperate to get his side to the half before things get worse.
35'
Another big switch is hit from left to right by Cardozo looking for Gonzalez, but it flies over the head of the winger and out for a Colombia throw-in, bringing another Paraguay attack to a disappointing end.
33'
Things go from bad to worse for Paraguay who must now score twice if they wish to get out of the group stage. Argentina’s lead remains in the other match - which puts even more pressure on Berizzo’s side, who only have an hour left.
31'
G. Cuéllar has scored a goal for Colombia! Assist by S. Arias.
Arias gets the assist with a leading pass for Cuellar inside the penalty area!
COLOMBIA OPEN THE SCORING! 1-0 to Los Cafeteros! Arzamendia tries to dribble out of danger in front of his penalty area and gets caught in possession by Falcao. He passes it forward for Arias who gets past Matias Rojas with a nifty move before centring it for Cuellar. The midfielder beats his man and fires a shot which gets past Fernandez!
29'
C. Borja gets yellow.
Gonzalez shifts his weight to get past Borja, but the defender brings down his man and earns a yellow card for the infringement.
28'
The corner is taken to Cardona at the near post, where Colombia hands go up immediately for a handball. It looks like the ball did hit off the arm of Gonzalez, but the referee refuses to award one after Falcao ends the attack with a miss high over the crossbar.
26'
Matias Rojas wins a free-kick inside Colombia’s half which he takes himself. It’s lifted to the far post for Cardozo, but Cuadrado intercepts the knock-down and facilitates a counter-attack which wins Colombia a corner at the other end.
24'
A switch is hit from the left to Gonzalez on the right, where he’s got a step on Borja who marks him - but the linesman raises his flag for an extremely marginal offside.
22'
It’s a battle of veteran strikers today as 36-year old Cardozo spearheads Paraguay’s attack, while Colombia’s 33-year old captain Falcao leads the line for his side. It will be interesting to see if either coach keeps their talisman in the match for the full 90.
20'
Arzamendia looks to surprise Colombia’s defence with an early ball into Almiron just outside the penalty area instead of playing it down the line for Matias Rojas, but Cristian Zapata is aware of the danger and steps up to intercept.
18'
Colombia look more assured in possession and are giving Paraguay no time to construct an attack in defence. They are limiting their opponents to sparse counter-attacks and poor-angle shots.
16'
The referee looks to pull out a card for Piris after a duel with Diaz who has been lively all match, but he ultimately gives the full-back just a talking to. The free-kick is swung to the near post for Cardona, but Gomez is there for a headed clearance.
14'
Colombia hit on a counter-attack, with the ball entering the penalty area on the left through Ruiz. His centring pass for Cardona is precise, but the forward needs a second touch to hit his shot, giving too much time to Paraguay’s defence to reorganise and clear.
12'
Gomez is caught in possession outside his own penalty area under the intense pressing of Cuellar. The captain’s blushes are saved as the Colombia midfielder misses his chance and sends the shot wide.
11'
A Colombia free-kick from outside the penalty area is floated into the penalty area on the left side for Ruiz, who dribbles towards the goal before taking an off-balance shot which never troubles the goalkeeper.
9'
Paraguay now know they need to chase a victory, which will no doubt condition the way Berizzo instructs his team from the technical area. Almiron’s pace has already troubled Cristian Zapata in the early stages, though they’ll need to take advantage of their opportunities.
7'
Almiron settles the bouncing ball and powers between two Colombia defenders before wiring a shot from inside the penalty area which flies well wide of Montero’s goal.
5'
UPDATE: Lautaro Martinez makes it 1-0 for Argentina against Qatar in the other Group B match! That means Paraguay need a victory in order to qualify!
3'
Gonzalez is allowed to burst into the penalty area after a poor goal-kick from Montero which puts his side under immense pressure. The wide player has a strike which looks to squeak through the keeper’s legs, but he eventually lands on the ball and prevents it from going in!
1'
Paraguay get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our live commentary of the Copa America Group B match between Colombia and Paraguay.
Colombia became the first team in the tournament to secure a passage to the knock-out stages after defeating Argentina and Qatar in their first two matches. Los Cafeteros are guaranteed to finish in first place and will advance to play the runners-up in group C. That could lead to wholesale changes for Carlos Queiroz, as there is nothing but form on the line.
PARAGUAY XI (4-2-3-1): Roberto Fernandez; Ivan Piris, Gustavo Gomez, Junior Alonso, Santiago Arzamendia; Rodrigo Rojas, Richard Sanchez; Derlis Gonzalez, Miguel Almiron, Matias Rojas; Oscar Cardozo.
COLOMBIA SUBS: James Rodriguez, Yerry Mina, John Medina, Camilo Vargas, Roger Martinez, Mateus Uribe, Duvan Zapata, Davinson Sanchez, Wilmar Barrios, William Tesillo.
COLOMBIA XI (4-2-3-1): Alvaro Montero; Cristian Borja, Jhon Lucumi, Cristian Zapata, Santiago Arias; Jefferson Lerma, Gustavo Cuellar; Luis Diaz, Edwin Cardona, Juan Cuadrado; Radamel Falcao.
With 10 minutes to go before kick-off, lets take a look at how the two sides will be lining up, starting with Colombia!
PARAGUAY SUBS: Juan Iturbe, Celso Ortiz, Hernan Perez, Juan Escobar, Cecilio Dominguez, Federico Santander, Fabian Balbuena, Ivan Torres, Bruno Valdez, Alfredo Aguilar, Antony Silva, Oscar Romero.
Paraguay could not hold onto a two-goal lead against Qatar, drawing 2-2 in their opening fixture before a Messi penalty snatched a draw for Argentina in Eduardo Berizzo’s second chance at victory. They start the match in second place in Group B, a point above both Qatar in third and Argentina in fourth with a superior goal differential. Should Paraguay manage to beat Colombia, they will be guaranteed of a berth in the quarter-finals, regardless of how the Albiceleste fair in their concurrently running match.
Colombia can afford to rest tired legs in the second half, with Falcao and Cuadrado - both in danger of missing next game through a yellow card - seem the most likely to be taken off in the second. Paraguay must continue to hit down the wings and through Newcastle’s Almiron - the central playmaker. With Los Cafeteros looking stingy in defence, it will be a case of quality of chances rather than quantity that decides the outcome. With 45 minutes to play, however, all is not lost.
That concludes our commentary of the fixture between Colombia and Paraguay! We hope you enjoyed it!
Colombia are in action next on June 28 when they face the second team in Group C. Paraguay, should they make it through, will play the winners of Group C on June 29.
Commentary
More…