Colombia ‘spied’ on before World Cup qualifier against Bolivia, says head coach Nestor Lorenzo

Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo claims his side have been “spied” on in the build up to their World Cup 2026 qualifier against Bolivia on Thursday.

Speaking on Wednesday before the match in El Alto, Bolivia, Lorenzo said the Colombian Football Federation would be filing an official complaint after an unidentified individual was photographed watching his side’s training session.

“It’s unfortunate to be spied upon,” said Lorenzo. “I don’t know where it came from or who it was, but we have pictures and we’ll file a complaint.

“Obviously one would like to train with the discretion and privacy that’s deserved. What happened broke the privacy of the group. But we have the person photographed and we’ll see what happens in the next few hours.”

In July, Canada’s women’s team were docked six points at the Olympic Games in Paris after drones were used to spy on their opponents. FIFA later ordered Canada Soccer to pay a $313,000 (£240,000) fine.

On Monday, Bolivia manager Oscar Villegas told Bolivian television show Fútbol Mania that he hoped his side would become the first team to defeat Colombia in the current World Cup qualifying campaign.

He then claimed that members of the Bolivian press were inadvertently aiding Colombia’s preparation for the match. “It would be nice to have the information that Colombia has on Bolivia,” said Villegas.

“Reporters know how (Bolivia) trained, who came on for who, everything that occurred during how training session that was obviously a closed-door session. We’d like to have information on what Colombia is going to do, but we have something probable. We’ll see in the coming days.”

The Athletic has contacted the Bolivian Football Federation for a response to Lorenzo’s comments.

Reports in Bolivia have said that tickets to tomorrow’s qualifier sold out in just a few hours. Bolivia is seeking their third consecutive World Cup qualifying win and currently sit in eighth place, tied on points (9) with Paraguay for the seventh slot. Six teams qualify automatically from CONMEBOL.

The seventh-placed team will take part in a six-team intercontinental play-off tournament, from which two sides will earn the right to play at the World Cup.

(Martín Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)