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Insane scenes as Melbourne ‘in raptures’ as Colombia make history

Melbourne has been transformed into downtown Bogota after a bonkers moment propelled them into the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Andrew McMurtryAndrew McMurtry
@AndrewMcMurtry
2 min read
August 8, 2023 - 10:21PM
What scenes out of Melbourne. Photo: Getty Images
What scenes out of Melbourne. Photo: Getty Images

Melbourne has been transformed into downtown Bogota after Colombia made history by winning a place in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup.

Colombia pulled off a 1-0 win thanks to a 51st minute strike against Jamaica (World No. 43) to book a clash against England on Sunday night.

The World No. 25 has now become just the second South American side to make the quarterfinals after Brazil.

The result could help propel Colombia further into a World Cup than it has ever been. Its best result to date was a quarterfinal at the 2014 Men’s World Cup in Brazil.

There were incredible scenes before, during and after the game as the Colombian fans turned it on.

In front of a packed house dominated by the South American side’s fans, Colombia were the better side throughout the match and were finally rewarded when captain Catalina Usme was found on the far post in the box and made no mistake slotting the goal.

The Colombian fans brought a lot of colour to the game. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
The Colombian fans brought a lot of colour to the game. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

It was easily the biggest cheer of the night in a match where the fans made themselves known throughout.

Optus Sport commentator Simon Hill said: “It sends the Colombians in the crowd into raptures.”

Earlier, the commentators had discussed how loud the anthem was, despite a relatively modest capacity of 27,706.

It’s the last match of the World Cup to be held in Melbourne and fans sent it out in brilliant fashion.

In Sydney, there was a massive crowd to watch the match as the Fan Festival.

The South Americans failed to qualify for the 2019 tournament, but have taken huge strides since, topping their group in Australia and stunning world number two Germany along the way.

The Colombian fans went wild. Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP
The Colombian fans went wild. Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP

It set a cagey game alight and sent the pumping pro-Colombian crowd into deafening delirium, with the Reggae Girlz unable to find a way back.

Colombia will now play England in Sydney on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals after the Lionesses came through a gripping penalty shootout against Nigeria.

And despite ending up on the losing side, Jamaica earned plenty of new fans for their efforts during the World Cup.

Four years after crashing out of the 2019 tournament with three heavy defeats, which was their first ever World Cup experience, Jamaica, like Colombia, also came to Australia with low expectations.

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And despite the crushing defeat, they will leave with their heads held high after clean sheets against France, Panama and Brazil.

It was a total of 321 minutes before conceding a goal.

With AFP

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/insane-scenes-as-melbourne-in-raptures-as-colombia-make-history/news-story/eab1f9d2da3f2fa2b9a8f337d885bb7a