Colombia will look to end its World Cup qualification tournament on a high note when it takes on Paraguay on Tuesday.
The Cafeteros could have been fighting to qualify in this match if not for some heroics on Friday against Chile. Colombia entered that match as the favorite to win, but found itself down 3-0 at the 30 minute mark of the game. The match was filled with a tremendous amount of yellow cards and Colombia was lucky to find itself on the right side of a call that resulted in a red card and a man advantage in the game. That event proved to be the turning point as Colombia battled back with goals from Teofilo Gutierrez and two terrific penalty strikes from Radamel Falcao.
The draw, while not glamorous for Colombia, earned them the point that they needed to book passage to the tournament in Brazil next summer. With the two goals, Falcao brought his total to nine goals, two short of World Cup qualifying leader Robin Van Persie; the Dutchman has scored 11 goals in the qualifiers.
The match against Paraguay still has great significance for Colombia as it looks to hold on to a top seven spot in the FIFA World rankings. Colombia currently holds the third spot and would need to be among the top seven to get seeded into the first pot for the World Cup; this would secure the team more favorable matchups heading into the tournament.
Prediction: Colombia wins 2-0.
Start Time: Kick-off starts at 7:30 p.m. EST
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