Colombia pull off insanely satisfying free-kick routine

Colombia recorded their first victory of the 2021 Copa America by beating Ecuador 1-0 in Cuiaba last night.

Their only goal came from Edwin Cardona, who started and finished off one of the slickest free-kick routines you’ll see.

Comprising of three one-touch passes, a chipped through ball, header and finish, it really was inch-perfect.

Cardona took the free-kick, exchanging a one-two with a team-mate before surging into the box.

The subsequent cross was then headed on by Mateus Uribe into the 28-year-old’s path, before he chested the ball down and fired it into the bottom left corner.

Cardona also produced this insane piece of skill in the second half, which capped off an excellent evening on both an individual and team level.

It was a winning start for Colombia, who face Venezuela in their second game of the tournament.

They were due to co-host this summer’s tournament alongside Argentina, but were removed as a result of ongoing anti-government protests.

Argentina were then removed as co-hosts, due an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Brazil replaced them both as the sole host of the tournament.

The Copa America was due to see both Qatar and Australia compete as guests, but both countries withdrew in February as a result of the pandemic.

The tournament sees 10 teams competing in two different groups, with the top four from each group progressing to the quarter-final stage.

Colombia’s group contains Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and hosts Brazil. Meanwhile, the other group is being contested by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Featured Image Credit: Getty