Arsenal’s Alexei Rojas ended up winning a bronze medal at the u20 World Cup with Colombia, though he had to settle for a squad role with the team.
20-year-old Arsenal goalkeeper Alexei Rojas has been away with Colombia at the u20 World Cup for the last month, playing in a pre-tournament friendly on September 23rd and going on to feature in the squad throughout the tournament proper.
Yet it’s not easy to get minutes as a backup goalkeeper at a major tournament, and though Rojas was named on the bench in every game, he didn’t make it onto the pitch.
All the same, Rojas ended up picking up a bronze medal with the team, after they defeated France in the third-place play-off over the weekend.
Colombia began the group stage with a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia, going on to draw matches against Norway and Nigeria to finish in top spot.
Knockout wins over South Africa and Spain saw Colombia into the semi-finals, but a 1-0 loss to Argentina ensured they wouldn’t be in contention to lift the trophy.
Thankfully, a second-minute goal in the third-place play-off ended up being the only goal of the game, so Rojas at least returns with a medal.
Rojas is yet to feature for the Arsenal academy in a competitive fixture this season, so his only recent appearance was in that Colombia u20 pre-tournament friendly against Mexico. He’ll hope to return and get involved more regularly over the coming weeks.