Colombians clear out the old guard

Colombia yesterday announced sweeping changes to their squad for their first matches since their 1994 World Cup flop.

The Parma striker, Faustino Asprilla, was one of those missing from the line-up. He had said previously he did not want to play for his country again following the murder of Andres Escobar, who scored an own goal in the World Cup defeat by the United States.

Only six members of the World Cup squad were included in the 19 named by the coach, Hernan Dario Gomez, for a four-team tournament in Hong Kong between 31 January and 3 February. The tournament also includes Sweden, China and South Korea.