Arsenal goalkeeper aims to qualify for u20 World Cup with Colombia | OneFootball

Colombia’s defeat to Argentina on Monday ended their hopes of winning the South American u20 Championship, but they can still qualify for the u20 World Cup in the final two games.

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Arsenal youth goalkeeper Alexei Rojas is away with the Colombia u20s at the 2025 South American u20 Championship, with the tournament kicking off on January 23rd and concluding on February 16th.

Colombia performed well in the first phase of competition, topping Group B ahead of Argentina and Brazil. Rojas was in goal for what was arguably Colombia’s best result – a 1-0 win over Brazil.

That put the team through to the final stage, another group stage involving the three best teams from each of the two initial groups. Each team faces the five others once, with the group winners winning the tournament.

Photo via Arsenal.com

Colombia started the final stage well, with a win over Paraguay, but they went on to lose their next two games 1-0 against Brazil and 1-0 against Argentina.

Unfortunately, that gives both Brazil and Argentina the head-to-head advantage over Colombia, with both teams having a six-point lead over Rojas’ side with two games remaining. As a result, it’s no longer possible for Colombia to win the competition.

Yet there’s still something to play for in the final two games against Chile and Uruguay.

Colombia sit third in the final-stage table, with the top-four teams qualifying for the u20 World Cup this September. Two wins, or a win and a draw, would be enough to qualify regardless of other results.

Photo via Rojas on Twitter

As it stands, Rojas’ only appearance for the Colombia u20s at the tournament is the 90 minutes he played in that 1-0 win over Brazil.

Keeping a clean sheet in your only showing is a good start, but the 19-year-old will hope to get further opportunities on the pitch in the final two matches.