- Lerma and Munoz picked for World Cup
- Colombia hoping to impress
- Well deserved call ups
Crystal Palace’s Colombian duo of Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Munoz have been called up for the World Cup squad. The pair have played a key role for their national side in recent years, and were mainstays of Colombia’s qualifying run.
Their contributions for Palace have been equally important this season, with the pair racking up over 85 appearances between them this season.
With Colombia set to feature in their seventh World Cup, both Lerma and Munoz will be keen to do their bit to guide Nestor Lorenzo’s side to a successful tournament.
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Nailed-on call ups
The Palace pair have been key players for Colombia for some time now, and have both been consistent starters too. Whilst their respective seasons for Palace have been differing in terms of success, both have been important players for the club at crucial moments.
Big moments and performances decorate their time in South London. Munoz scored Palace’s first ever European goal, whilst Lerma put in a stoic forty minutes in the FA Cup final win.
Whilst Lerma’s contributions this season have come from the bench more often than not, he has continued to be a key figure and a versatile option for Oliver Glasner.
Munoz’s importance to Palace’s success and system cannot be understated. He’s one of the key reasons for the success under Glasner, and has developed into one of the best attacking wing backs in Europe.
It will be Lerma’s second World Cup, whilst Munoz will be taking to the big stage for the first time in his career.
Colombia’s World Cup History
Colombia have never won a World Cup, but have been victorious in the Copa America once in 2001.
They’re placed in Group K, with Portugal, Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a third placed finish enough to qualify for the knockouts, it would be somewhat surprising to see them fail to achieve that at a minimum.
Their best World Cup performance was in the 2014 tournament in Brazil. A fifth placed finish after reaching the quarter-finals, the tournament was widely remembered for James Rodriguez’s breakout on the international stage.
Their most recent international tournament saw them lose the Copa America final to Argentina in 2024. Lerma started that day, and played well, but they just missed out on glory in extra time.
With a talented squad, Colombia will be hoping to better their 2014 performance, and with the players they have, that is certainly a possibility.
