When we last saw the national teams of Brazil and Colombia on a
soccer field, it was July Fourth, in a World Cup quarterfinal. Brazilian
star Neymar was being carted off on a stretcher after taking a knee in
the back from Colombian defender Juan Camilo Zuniga, sending 200 million
Brazilians into despair.
Brazil won that match 2-1 in Fortaleza,
but it was a heated contest, with a tournament-high 56 fouls called. It
was also a costly win for the host Brazilians. Neymar sustained a spinal
fracture and was forced to sit out the semifinal, in which Brazil was
humiliated 7-1 by eventual champion Germany.
BRAZIL
Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Rafael (Napoli)
Defenders: Maicon (AS Roma), Filipe Luis (Chelsea), Alex Sandro (FC Porto), Danilo (FC Porto), David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Gil (Corinthians), Miranda (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Fernandinho (Manchester City), Luiz Gustavo (VfL Wolfsburg), Elias (Corinthians), Ramires (Chelsea), Everton Ribeiro (Cruzeiro), Ricardo Goulart (Cruzeiro), Oscar (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Forwards: Robinho (Santos FC), Neymar (FC Barcelona), Diego Tardelli (Atletico Mineiro)
COLOMBIA
Goalkeepers: David Ospina (Arsenal) and Camilo Vargas (Santa Fe).
Defenders: Pablo Armero, Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Camilo Zúñiga, (Napoli), Eder Alvarez (River Plate, Argentina), Santiago Arias (PSV Eindhoven) and Carlos Valdés (Philadelphia Union).
Midfielders: Abel Aguilar (Toulouse), Fredy Guarín (Inter Milan), Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (Fiorentina), James Rodríguez (Real Madrid), Aldo Leao Ramírez (Atlas, Mexico), Carlos Sánchez (Aston Villa), Alexander Mejía (Atlético Nacional) and Juan Fernando Quintero (Porto).
Forwards: Jackson Martínez (Porto), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla), Teófilo Gutiérrez (River Plate, Argentina), Adrián Ramos (Borussia Dortmund), Víctor Ibarbo (Cagliari), Radamel Falcao (Manchester United) and Luis Muriel (Udinese).
