Colombia dominates Panama, will face Uruguay in Copa America semifinals

Team captain Jámes Rodriguez scored on a penalty kick and assisted on two other goals, leading Colombia to a 5-0 win over Panama on Saturday in the Copa America soccer quarterfinals at State Farm Stadium.

Colombia was in control from start to finish, scoring a pair of early goals, including a 15th-minute spot kick from Rodriguez to make it 2-0. Luis Diaz, Jhon Cordoba, Richard Rios and Miguel Borja also scored for Colombia, which advanced to the Copa America semifinals Wednesday, July 10, to face Uruguay, which defeated Brazil later Saturday night.

Colombia finished off Panama with a Richard Rios rocket from distance in the 70th minute, delighting the large Colombian contingent among the 39,740 fans in Glendale.

Panama, not expected by most to have made it as far as the quarterfinals, trailed 3-0 at halftime and changed goalkeepers. By then, the game's outcome was hardly in doubt.

"I'd hoped for more from us. We got a lesson in how to play at a higher level," Panama head coach Thomas Christensen said. "Our place is third or fourth in CONCACAF (North American soccer region). That's good for us but we'd like to increase our level to be closer to USA, Canada and Mexico. But that's only possible with hard work."

At the end, the Central Americans had resorted to overly physical play, committing hard fouls against Colombia's players. The final infraction in the 90th minute led to another Colombia penalty kick, and Borja buried it in stoppage time.

The goal was the final play of the match.

"He's a good player, nothing to explain," Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo said of Rodriguez after the game. "He's a player that is happy on the field."

Colombia fans take over Copa America

Colombia's return to State Farm Stadium for its Copa America match Saturday afternoon brought more of their yellow jersey-clad fans to Glendale, further proving that the South American nation's faithful will be there in droves for their beloved men's national team anywhere they go in the U.S..

Neither Colombia nor Panama have large communities in the Phoenix area. But that didn't stop tens of thousands of fans from descending on State Farm Stadium. Many wore the traditional woven hats of the two countries.

More than 27,000 Colombia fans braved the heat here June 28 for a group stage match against Costa Rica. On July 2 in Colombia's Copa America Group D finale against Brazil at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., almost 71,000 fans were there, many of them for Colombia.

There was yellow everywhere in the seats among 67,059 fans June 24 at NRG Stadium in Houston as Colombia defeated Paraguay 2-1 in the group stage.

The Boada family laughed and drank Aguardiente, regarded by many as the signature liquor of Colombia, while huddled under a canopy in a parking lot before Saturday's game. It was 109 degrees out, but the Los Angeles-area residents celebrated being there for another big game for their team.

They taught a passerby a new Colombian Spanish word: "Chimba." It means anything cool or fun, or is an expression of joy and excitement.

"We love our country," fan Juan Boada, originally from the Colombian capital of Bogotá, said in Spanish. "We love football and we always go anywhere for our team."

Fans held Colombian flags with the names of the towns from which they traveled. They danced to salsa music over the speakers in the stadium, and one fan confidently held a sign that read, "Argentina we will wait for you in the final" in Spanish.

One fan threw his small child in the air in celebration of Colombia's second goal of the day.

Panama fans were few and far between, but stood out with their red jerseys and red, white and blue flags.

Copa America halftime: Colombia in control vs. Panama

Colombia might consider playing more matches in Glendale, given that it won third place over the U.S. in Copa America Centenario at the home of the Arizona Cardinals in 2016, defeated Costa Rica earlier in Copa America 2024 and dominated the first half against Panama on Saturday. Colombia leads 3-0 at halftime of a largely one-sided match.

A corner kick sent into the box came to Colombia forward Jhon Cordoba, who, despite being pulled down by Panama defender José Cordoba in front of the goal, got his head to the ball and deflected it into the net in the eighth minute.

But "Los Cafeteros" weren't done. Moments later in the 12th minute, midfielder Jhon Arias was taken down on an attempted clearance from Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera, and the referee called for a penalty kick. It took a few minutes to check replay, but after that, Colombia captain Jámes Rodriguez hammered a left-footed penalty too powerful to be saved, and Colombia led 2-0.

Panama almost scored in the 18th minute, a header off a free kick bouncing off a post and somehow staying out of the net.

Colombia went ahead 3-0 after a foul and quick restart from Rodriguez, who lofted a ball toward the Panama goal and found Luis Diaz for a chip over the goalkeeper's head in the 41st minute.

That's six goals in three halves of soccer for Colombia at State Farm Stadium in Copa America.