Colombia coach accuses Bolivia of spying before World Cup qualifier

Colombia national team head coach Nestor Lorenzo has accused Bolivia of spying on his side ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifying match on Thursday at Municipal Stadium El Alto.

He said the Colombian Football Federation will be filing a formal complaint on the matter and submitting photographic evidence to make the case.

"It is unfortunate that they send you to spy and all that," Lorenzo said at a news conference Wednesday. "I don't know where it came from or who it was, but we identified him, we have photos and we will file a complaint about the case.

"Of course, one wants to train with the discretion that is deserved, and what happened was a breach of the team's privacy. We have photographs of the entire person, we will see how we proceed in the next few hours."

Bolivian national team head coach Oscar Villegas minimized Lorenzo's accusation of spying, pointing out that images of Bolivia's practices, which were carried out behind closed doors, have also been leaked.

When asked about an alleged intention to inflate the balls over the regulated level to give their team an advantage, Villegas emphasized the seriousness of the situation by noting that these World Cup qualifying rounds are not a "casual neighborhood game". "FIFA and Conmebol send personnel to control every aspect of the game," he added.

The match between Bolivia and Colombia will be played in a stadium located at more than 4,000 meters of altitude.

The accusations from Colombia come just months after it was revealed that Canada Soccer utilized drones to spy on several opponents across multiple competitions. The New Zealand women's soccer team first reported suspicious drone activity to the French police ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, before authorities traced the activity to Canada Soccer staff member Joseph Lombardi.

FIFA subsequently issued Canada Soccer a $313,000 fine, while also deducting six points from the squad at the Olympic games. The incident at the Olympics unearthed what the federation's chief executive called a "systemic culture" within Canada Soccer.

Colombia and Bolivia have faced each other 12 times since 2003, with Los Cafeteros holding the edge with a 8-1-3 (W-L-D) record. Colombia currently sits in second place on the Conmebol World Cup qualifying standings, while Bolivia struggles in eighth.