Barranquilla plays host to Brazil on Tuesday as the already-qualified Selecao take on Colombia in their latest World Cup qualifier. Keen to keep up their invincible record in the competition since Tite took over, Brazil will also be heartened by a historical record in the fixture heavily weighted in their favour.
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The Cafetero have won just two matches against their neighbours in the entire history of the match. Brazil have won 16 of the 26 clashes disputed between the two nations, with eight draws. But this Colombia team are a different prospect, and the fixture has never been as hard-fought as in these recent years. Brasil Global Tour looks back at five of the most memorable Brazil-Colombia games since the nations' first meeting back in 1945.
THE FIRST CLASH
Brazil and Colombia took their time to meet in an official match. The first competitive fixture was in the 1945 South American Championship, the Copa America's forerunner, in Chile. A Brazil team managed by Felipe Costa set the tone with an easy 3-0 win over their rivals, with all three goals coming in the first half from Jorginho, Heleno de Freitas and Jayme de Almeida.
THE BIGGEST WIN AND EVARISTO'S SHOW
Brazil's biggest win over Colombia came in 1957, again in the South American Championship. In Peru one of the best Selecao line-ups of all time destroyed their rivals 9-0, playing them off the park. Evaristo, the future Barcelona star, was unstoppable as he smashed five goals, while Didi pitched in with a double and Pepe and Zizinho rounded off the rout. Just a year later, and with the addition of a young promise by the name of Pele, that same team would lift Brazil's first World Cup.
COLOMBIA'S FIRST WIN
Colombia had to wait 46 years from their first encounter to beat Brazil, meaning when the victory finally came it was fully enjoyed. With stars like Carlos Valderrama, Rene Higuita and Freddy Rincon in the team, 1991 saw the Cafeteros down Falcao's side 2-0 in a Copa America group match, confirming a golden age for the nation with one of their finest generations of players in history.
A TENSE WORLD CUP BATTLE
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Having dumped Chile out of the 2014 World Cup on penalties, Brazil faced another South American opponent in the quarter-finals in the shape of Jose Pekerman's Colombia. Fortaleza played host to a clash that was gripping to watch, if not without its controversy. Goals from David Luiz and Thiago Silva sent the hosts into the semis, although a yellow card for the latter would later have catastrophic consequences for the Brazil backline against Germany.
Robbed of Silva for the semis, Brazil also saw standard-bearer and star Neymar hobble out of the World Cup. A heavy tackle from Zuniga caused the Barcelona youngster to fracture a rib, ruling him out of the decisive stages of the tournament.
THE FRIENDSHIP GAME
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Rivals on the pitch for more than 60 years, in 2016 Brazil and Colombia were united by tragedy. Chapecoense's plane crashed on the way to a Copa Sudamericana final clash against Atletico Nacional, killing 71 people on board. In a touching gesture of solidarity, the two nations came together to play a tribute match to those lost in the disaster.
Dudu's goal helped the Selecao to a 1-0 win, but the result was almost irrelevant on a magic night in Rio de Janeiro's Engenhao stadium, where the two countries remembered those lost on the LaMia flight. The tension present in recent matches gave way to a respectful atmosphere in which football was the only real winner.
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