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Colombia Officially Include Zuniga On World Cup Roster, Drop Falcao

Camilo Zuniga is officially getting a ticket to Brazil, but Colombia's biggest star is missing out on the World Cup.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso

Despite missing so much of the season with a knee injury, Camilo Zuniga is on Colombia's final 23-man World Cup roster. With Colombia having failed to qualify for the last three World Cups, this is his first shot at glory on the world's biggest footballing stage. At his age, 28, this could also be his only shot at playing a large role in the tournament.

The move isn't actually that big of a shock, as Colombia's fullback depth is, well, not deep, but it's still good news that he's been deemed fit enough to participate in light of other players across the world not meeting that requirement. That news was overshadowed by a more unfortunate break in injury recovery: Radamel Falcao will not be joining his countrymen on the pitch this summer.

Still recovering from a serious knee injury in January, Falcao did not feel that he was fit enough to justify taking a roster spot from a healthier player. It's immensely sad news for anyone hoping to see the world-class striker's talents on full display for all to see, but instead he'll be joining fellow wunderforward Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the sidelines.

Napoli loanee Pablo Armero, who struggled immensely in the fall in Italy and then barely played on loan with West Ham, also has made the squad for Colombia. How long he'll remain a Napoli player remains to be seen, however, as he's almost certainly been rendered surplus to requirements after his poor showing this past year.