June 18, 2015
Vanderbilt redshirt junior Lina Granados will be a part of history next week.
On Wednesday, Granados and the Colombian National Team advanced out of group play of the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in the country’s history. Colombia moves into the knockout stage to play the United States in the round of 16 at 7 p.m on Monday in Edmonton, Canada on Fox Sports 1.
Granados, a defender who is the first active Commodore to play in a World Cup after being called up two weeks ago, has dual citizenship in Colombia and the United States. The 21-year-old was born in Bogota, Colombia, but has lived in Ashburn, Va., since she was five years old. She started playing for the Colombia U-20 team when she was 15 and twice has played in international tournaments, including helping Colombia win the gold medal in the Bolivian Games in Peru two years ago.
Colombia finished third in Group F standings behind France and England. Las Cafeteras opened with a 1-1 tie against Mexico before stunning France, ranked third in the world, with a 2-0 victory for their first World Cup victory ever and the biggest upset in the tournament so far. Colombia fell 2-1 to England in the final game of group play on Wednesday, but had already punched its ticket to the knockout stage as a result of other matches the day before.
