Argentina suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Colombia in the final of the South American U-17 Championship, missing out on the title despite a strong run in the tournament. The team coached by Diego Placente had already secured its main objective—qualification for the U-17 World Cup—but fell short in the decisive match.
Played in Paraguay, the final began with Argentina showing the better side in the first half. The Albiceleste created several chances and looked more composed, even as Colombia came in as favorites after a convincing semifinal win over Brazil. Captain Simón Escobar, a Vélez Sarsfield midfielder, came closest to scoring when his left-footed strike hit the crossbar. The match also saw a 15-minute interruption due to a power outage.
However, just before halftime, Colombia found the breakthrough. Miguel Agamez scored with a powerful left-footed shot in stoppage time, giving Colombia a 1-0 lead and shifting the momentum heading into the second half.
Argentina struggled to recover after the break. Within nine minutes, Caicedo doubled Colombia’s advantage, and shortly after, the score became 3-0. The Argentine side lost control of the match, both tactically and emotionally. At the 18-minute mark of the second half, Mendizabal was sent off, leaving the team with ten players.
The closing stages were chaotic. After Escorcia made it 4-0, tensions boiled over, resulting in red cards for Gian Escobar and Alan Alcaraz following an altercation near the penalty area.
Despite the result, Argentina can take positives from the tournament. The team secured qualification for the U-17 World Cup, set to take place in November in Qatar.
