Colombia vs. Chile: Time, Channel, & Lineup

Radamel Falcao remains injured for the Colombians, while James Rodriguez should be available to feature at least at a few point, recently returning to the pitch after a thigh injury sustained in Colombia’s 1-1 friendly with Peru in September – James returned to action as a substitute in Madrid’s 3-2 loss to Sevilla on Sunday, netting his fifth goal of the year in the process.

Muriel’s persistence paid off in the 67th minute when he broke down the left again and while his cross was cut out, the clearance went to Rodriguez, who failed to control the ball with his first touch but regained control quickly and scored with a shot on the turn from 12 metres in the 68th minute.

Each angling for a place atop South America’s World Cup qualifying standings, Colombia and Chile’s Thursday matchup at Estadio Nacional in Santiago figures to revolve around the health and production of respective stars James Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez. Quito’s elevation of 2,850 meters (9,350 feet) always makes it hard for visitors.

The final 20 minutes was an end-to-end affair and Colombia almost grabbed a victor when Bravo just managed to stop Edwin Cardona’s shot. Felipe Caideco opened scoring for Ecuador, and Edinson Cavani equalized for Uruguay early in the second half. Despite that, though, they’ve often struggled to live up to their capability – they had a middling run in the World Cup, and mostly looked flat in the Copa America before going out in the quarterfinals.

Really, when you’re dealing with this much cocaine, you expect a certain level of professionalism. Mario Rondon and Richard Blanco scored for Venezuela, which has lost its first three qualifying matches. Bolivia has three points from three matches. The Albiceleste play Brazil on Friday after that match was postponed on Thursday due to heavy rain in Buenos Aires. While many will focus on the other game the Chile and Colombia tie could be one of the best games of the week.