La Verde has zero points and zero goals in Colombia

 The worst drubbing suffered by the national team against the Colombians was 5-0 (2013), when coach Xabier Azkargorta was in charge of the team. 

The Bolivian national team has everything against it for another visit to Colombia. Of the nine opponents La Verde has played against in CONMEBOL, it has taken points from all of them abroad, but the exception is Colombia, with which it has only known defeats in the six matches it has played in the World Cup qualifiers.

The statistics are totally unfavorable for Bolivia, since in all the matches they played in Bogota and Barranquilla they could not score a single goal. This Thursday 24, from 19:00, César Farías's team will try to break this bad streak against the Colombian team in the penultimate match to be played at the Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez stadium.

Since August 20, 1997, when they met for the first time in a World Cup qualifier for France 1998, the Colombians have been in control of their territory and have not let any points slip away from La Verde. That first encounter included several players who had qualified for the World Cup four years earlier, but who were in the final part of their national team careers.

Lineup

La Verde's lineup included Carlos Trucco, Juan Manuel Peña, Marco Antonio Sandy, Oscar Sánchez, Fernando Ochoaizpur, Sergio Castillo, Luis Héctor Cristaldo, Rubén Tufiño, Jaime Moreno, Marco Antonio Etcheverry and Erwin Sánchez. The team coached by Spaniard Antonio López Habas lost 3-0 and ended the game with ten men due to the expulsion of Tufiño. The goals for the Colombians were scored by Anthony de Ávila, Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla.

The new century

In 2001, Bolivians and Colombians met again in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan. Colombia was preparing its team to host that year's Copa América and beat La Verde, coached by Carlos Aragonés, 2-0.

For the 2006 World Cup in Germany, it was the closest result of all Bolivia's visits to that country, 1-0. Colombia was coached by Reinaldo Rueda, who coincidentally coached that team in this qualifier.  Everyone's team was coached by Ramiro Blacut.

Bolivia's last three visits also ended in defeat: in 2009 the result was 2-0 with Erwin Sánchez as coach; while nine years ago there was the most resounding defeat, 5-0, to the group commanded by Xabier Azkargorta.

In 2017 , Mauricio Soria was the DT of the national team and in the visit to Barranquilla they reaped another defeat by the minimum difference.

 As locals, the Colombians have a perfect score, since they won the 18 points in dispute, scored 14 goals and did not concede any goal against the different Bolivian teams.

For Thursday, the Colombians are favorites to take the three points in dispute that will allow them to hope for a miracle to go to the World Cup.