He withdrew from doubles at Wimbledon due to a knee injury

A premature goodbye to the coffee illusion

Vancouver was the scene of the goodbye. Colombia dreamed of matching its best World Cup participation, but penalties ruled the day. Without goals in 120 minutes, Switzerland won 4-3 from the eleventh step.

Davinson Sánchez hit the crossbar with his shot. Gregor Kobel saved Cucho Hernández’s penalty. The definition was relentless.

“Something was missing, we left the cup prematurely, we left in the round of 16,” lamented midfielder Jhon Arias. “Hopefully, God allows that today is a change in the national team because it is also good to always stay at the door.”

Colombia had clear opportunities to end the match. In the first extra time, Jhon Lucumí hit the crossbar with a header. At 116 minutes, Jaminton Campaz, alone against Kobel, finished above. The lack of definition was decisive.

With a squad led by Luis Díaz, Luis Suárez and James Rodríguez, expectations were high. Coach Néstor Lorenzo recognized the rival’s merit:

“We knew the match was going to be quite close, very tactical, very even… I think we deserved a little more for the intentions we had.”

The Colombian fans, present at each venue, supported the team. From Mexico City to Vancouver, a yellow tide accompanied the Coffee Growers. But Switzerland knew how to neutralize the Colombian attack with defensive order.

“We were able to cover Díaz very well,” said Swiss coach Murat Yakin. “We analyze different variations and study each player.”

James Rodríguez, top scorer of the 2014 World Cup, leaves without scoring in this edition. At 34 years old, his cycle in the national team seems to be closing. Luis Suárez, on the other hand, asked to look at the positive side:

“A sad day, but what was seen in this country must be looked at from the positive side. Let’s hope this is a turning point.”

Lorenzo’s contract ends with this defeat. Without revealing his future, he thanked the public. Colombia was left at the door again.

Political pressure in football

Dozens of European legislators are promoting an investigation in the European Parliament against Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA. The reason: his decision to lift the red card suspension of American forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.

Balogun received the red card in the United States’ victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1. Normally, that would have ruled him out of the next game. However, FIFA annulled the sanction for the round of 16, after Donald Trump intervened against Infantino.

MEPs Barry Andrews, Lara Wolters and Niels Fuglsang said in a statement:

“Changing the rule on red card suspensions in the middle of the tournament is a disgrace and a perversion of justice.”

And they added:

“Once again, we have seen Infantino and FIFA capitulate to the demands of the Trump administration.”

Lawmakers call on national football associations in the European Union to put pressure on FIFA’s Ethics Committee. They want to know if pressure from the Trump administration influenced the lifting of the suspension, and also to investigate “other possible violations of political neutrality,” such as awarding Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.

FIFA has said the decision was made by an independent disciplinary committee. So far, 35 colleagues have signed the MEPs’ letter.

“The beauty of sport is that it is based on impartial and transparent rules. When Infantino allows political pressure to determine who can play, that sense of justice goes out the window,” the legislators concluded.

Pedersen wins the fourth stage and Traeen dresses in yellow

Dane Mads Pedersen won an electrifying sprint to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France. He attacked 300 meters from the finish line and overtook his teammate Quinn Simmons and the Spaniard Raúl García.

“This was certainly a masterpiece of teamwork,” Pedersen acknowledged. “They worked like machines.”

It was his third victory on the Tour. Meanwhile, Norwegian Torstein Traeen took the yellow jersey. The leader, Tadej Pogacar, did not compete in the sprint and arrived alongside Jonas Vingegaard, more than 12 minutes later.

Traeen, 30 years old and from the Uno-X Mobility team, leads the general classification with almost eight minutes of advantage.

“I can’t believe it,” Traeen said. “I will enjoy the jersey as much as I can.”

However, he could lose it on Thursday in stage 6, when the race reaches the Pyrenees.

Stage 4, 182 km between Carcassonne and Foix, had four climbs and temperatures of 38°C. Extra provisioning areas were enabled.

“You have to live with the heat,” said Pedersen. “The team helps us with ice bottles and socks.”

With 50 km remaining, a trio escaped but were caught. Kévin Vauquelin then tried, but Pedersen overtook him.

Stage 5 on Wednesday is flat, ideal for sprinters.