(Houston) Daniel Munoz scored in the 32nd minute and Jefferson Lerma in the 42nd, helping Colombia begin its Copa America journey with a 2-1 victory over Paraguay.
It was a ninth consecutive victory for the Colombian national team.
Colombia, which had possession 66% of the time, is unbeaten in 24 games since a 1-0 loss to Argentina in a World Cup qualifying match on February 1, 2022 She is 19-0-5 since then.
James Rodriguez set up Colombia’s two goals in his 101st international match in front of a crowd of 67,059 at NRG Stadium.
Julio Enciso scored Paraguay’s only goal in the 69th minute.
Colombia plays Costa Rica on Friday in Glendale, and Brazil on July 2 in Santa Clara. Paraguay will cross swords with Brazil on Friday in Las Vegas, then with Costa Rica on July 2 in Austin.
Colombia won the tournament in 2001 and lost on penalties in the semi-finals to Argentina in 2021. Paraguay triumphed in 1953 and 1979, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals in the last two editions .
