Team profile: Colombia

Regrettably we won’t be able to watch Radamel Falcao. The Monaco hitman has long been recognized as one of the world’s top strikers, but he hasn’t recovered in time from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that ended his season prematurely. One man’s misfortune, though, is another’s opportunity: Porto’s Jackson Martínez, at 27, is reportedly being courted by Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, and the striker won’t play in Falcao’s shadow in Brazil — instead, he could prove a more than able understudy. And then there’s young James Rodríguez, the 22-year-old playmaker hailed as the heir to Carlos Valderrama, the most gifted Colombian player in living memory.

Colombia’s best tournament was 1990, when it reached the last 16 despite lackluster displays, but was sent home after losing to Cameroon in its first knockout encounter. Still, the Colombians caught the eye, particularly Valderrama and cavalier goalkeeper René Higuita, who made some spectacular saves but went walkabout and was dispossessed 10 yards outside his penalty area by Roger Milla for Cameroon’s winner.

Colombia has got to fancy its chances in a group featuring Côte d’Ivoire, Japan and Greece. It may miss Falcao, but it's on its home continent and has plenty of attacking options against comparatively weak defenses. It’ll be hoping at least to match its best-ever performance by reaching the round of 16.

Great things were expected of the Colombians in their 1994 World Cup in the U.S. also, but they failed to get through the group stage. This time, both Japan and Côte d’Ivoire have the firepower to hurt them, and possibly the defensive strength to hold them at bay.

While Higuita’s goof did nothing to diminish his beloved status back home, less lucky was fullback and captain Andrés Escobar, whose own goal in the match against the hosts in the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. saw the Colombians eliminated from a tournament in which they’d been expected to shine. That mistake cost Escobar his life; he was murdered in cold blood by suspected drug cartel gunmen as punishment for his error.