Colombia eliminated Uruguay in the quarter-finals of the Copa America back in July, winning a penalty shoot-out after the match ended in a scoreless draw. Colombia won the shoot-out 4-2, with Yerry Mina breaking into dance in celebration. It was a gesture that, according to Marca, didn’t go down too well in the Uruguayan dressing room, especially with Luis Suarez.
It was Lionel Messi, Suarez’s great friend, that extracted revenge, however. Colombia faced his Argentina in the semi-final and the game once again went to penalties. Mina missed his this time, and Messi reacted by yelling at him. “Dance now, dance now, Mina,” he was filmed saying to his former Barcelona teammate.
Suarez then got involved, replying to Messi’s Instagram post commemorating the victory by saying that now the Colombians can dance all they like. Mina, for his part, tried to calm tensions when asked about it a little while later. He maintained that he was still friends with both Messi and Suarez, and that things like that happen in football sometimes.
Now, the Everton centre-back is set to cross paths with Suarez again, in a direct battle between defender and centre-forward. They’ll face off in a crucial World Cup qualifier this Thursday evening between Colombia and Uruguay in Montevideo. Uruguay are in third at the time of writing, two points clear of fifth-placed Colombia. Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador are first, second and fourth respectively, Brazil streets ahead in front.
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