James Rodriguez, Colombia toy with Mexico

ARLINGTON, Texas – Even at 34 years old, James Rodriguez is still a pivotal piece of the Colombian men’s soccer national soccer team.

A little more than 11 years after he won the Golden Boot at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the veteran midfielder put on a display of excellence with three assists against Mexico at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night.

Rodriguez’s corner kick in the 16th minute set up Bologna center back Jhon Lucumí’s opening goal in Colombia’s 4-0 victory over El Tri.

”It comes down to James’s striking ability or… the fact that we have excellent free-kick takers, which I’d say is half the achievement,” Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo said.

Shades of Brazil 2014

James Rodriguez played in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, finishing as the top scorer of the tournament in 2014 in Brazil. The former Real Madrid attacking midfielder has represented Colombia in many Copa America tournaments. He also led the team to the finals in 2024, earning honors as the tournament’s best player.  

Although Rodriguez didn’t score any goals Saturday night, he was a major influence. He showcased the vision that’s been a staple of his career. James Rodriguez created several scoring opportunities for the younger players to score.

His presence on the pitch elevated Colombia’s younger generation. 

Los Cafeteros opened the scoring in the 16th minute in front of a crowd of 72,438. After falling behind in the 16th minute, Mexico controlled possession more at the end of the first half. Forward Santiago Giménez came close to scoring, but his shot went wide left. 

In the 56th minute, Rodriguez split El Tri’s back line and found Bayern Munich winger Luis Díaz breaking free against defender Jorge Sanchez, who scored against El Tri’s goalkeeper Angel Malagón. 

Eight minutes later, Mexican defender Cesar Montes failed to clear a cross by Rodriguez from outside the box, giving the ball to midfielder Jefferson Lerma, who gave Colombia a 3-0 lead with a volley into the bottom right corner of the goal. 

In the 87th minute, forward Johan Carbonero capped the scoring on a counterattack. He slipped the ball between Malagón’s legs after the goalkeeper hesitated to challenge.

’Heavy result’

“It’s a heavy result that no one expected here, certainly not us,” Mexico’s Cesar Montes said. “There’s a lot to work on. Obviously, we did some things right and tried to play, but two transitions and two set pieces were what cost us the four goals. 

“We have to keep working. We’ve got a match in three days. Ecuador is a similar kind of team.”

Rodriguez was substituted off in the 69th minute. He played for 69 minutes and had two assists and two shots. He earned the player of the match. 

“We’re a team, we work as one, and we focus on those details,” Colombia’s head coach Nestor Lorenzo said. “Today, once again, we were able to compete on set pieces, but honestly, it goes beyond the area we target or how we study the opponent.”