Qatar 2022: Why are Colombia not at the FIFA World Cup?

Colombia had to wait for a large number of years before returning to a FIFA World Cup. Their savior in that regard was Argentinian head coach José Pékerman, who helped them qualify to Brazil 2014. They were able to repeat that feat by appearing at Russia 2018 to participate in consecutive editions. Although they couldn’t turn it into three in a row since they will not be at Qatar 2022.

Their journey was absolutely different in their way to the upcoming FIFA World Cup. The Colombian National Team struggled from the beginning and that carried away throughout the whole 18-game CONMEBOL qualifiers. Multiple hirings at the coach position added instability to a squad that got used to playing in big stages.

Though that streak ended in a very dramatic way. In the last edition, they could rescue a fourth place that got them to the World Cup ahead of Peru. This time the story ended up very differently for Colombia, who almost make the cut. Here you will find out what happened to this squad that did not qualify to Qatar 2022.

Why did Colombia not qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar?

Unlike other FIFA World Cup qualifiers around the world, the South American one is very straightforward. There are 10 participants that face each other twice, with one home game and another one on the road. After those 18 games are completed, the first four teams qualify directly and the fifth goes to a playoff battle to make it to the big tournament.

Colombia, unfortunately, couldn’t even finish in that spot. Their irregular journey had them sixth in the standings, so they barely missed the cut. To make things more hurtful, they were just one point behind Peru for that extra opportunity. The beginning of the competition is what ultimately sealed their faith.

The National Team was able to round up their participation with two victories in a row, though it was already too late for them. The game that costed Colombia their ticket to Qatar 2022 took place with no doubt on Matchday 15. At that time, they were hosting Peru, but they lost 1-0 to a goal scored in the 85th minute. In all, that’s why they won’t be in the World Cup.

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