James Rodriguez shines as Colombia pummel Panama in Copa America quarterfinals

Colombia are onto the Copa America semifinals after absolutely pummeling Panama 5-0 Saturday night in the quaterfinals.

Los Cafeteros were on the front foot immediately, opening the scoring in the 8th minute through Jhon Cordoba. A James Rodriguez corner kick found the head of the forward, with the goal setting the tone early.

Rodriguez then doubled their lead in the 15th minute from the penalty spot, with Los Cafeteros' captain notching a goal and an assist early on in the contest. Colombia added a third just before the halftime break via Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, who lobbed the goalkeeper after some brilliant service from Rodriguez with a cheeky attempt.

Panama responded with some halftime adjustments, but it was too little too late, as Colombia's three-goal first half told the story. They added a fourth in the 71st minute through a long-range effort off the boot of Richard Rios, and a fifth in the 92nd minute after Miguel Borja bagged a goal from the penalty spot late.

Colombia have the longest unbeaten streak in global men's soccer in the international game at the moment. Defeating Panama moved their incredible record to 27 straight matches without a defeat. Their last loss arrived in February 2022, at the hands of Lionel Messi and Argentina.

James Rodriguez:

MVP of the tournament so far? It's safe to say he's in contention for it.

Saturday marked his fourth and fifth assists of Copa America 2024, while he found the back of the net for the first time. He put on a passing clinic, was an ace from dead ball set-piece attempts and captained his country to their 27th-straight match unbeaten. A job well done.

Panama's defense:

Conceding inside the opening 10 minutes is never ideal, but conceding twice in the opening 15 minutes is unacceptable. For a team that was on unexpected run at this Copa America, it all crashed down quickly. It began with a missed mark on the Cordobaa corner kick, and then it was sloppy goalkeeping from Orlando Mosquera to concede the penalty.

After a heroic group stage showing, it was a poor knockout round.

Colombia will advance to play the winner of Brazil-Uruguay in the semifinals of the tournament Wednesday night. The victor of that match will then compete against the winner of Argentina-Canada in the Copa America final.