Soccer-Colombia appoint Rueda as national team coach

Rueda, 63, coached Colombia at the 2004 Copa America and 2005 Gold Cup but failed to take his homeland through from the World Cup qualifiers for Germany 2006. A former coach of club sides Flamengo and Atletico Nacional of Medellin, he has also managed Honduras and Ecuador.

Colombia named Reinaldo Rueda as their new coach on Thursday, appointing him for a second spell in charge just hours after he left his position as manager of Chile. Rueda left Chile on Wednesday to replace Carlos Queiroz, who left his post with Colombia in December after two defeats left them joint seventh in South America's 10-team qualifying group for the Qatar World Cup.

The top four qualify automatically for the 2022 tournament and the fifth-placed side goes into an inter-regional playoff. Rueda, 63, coached Colombia at the 2004 Copa America and 2005 Gold Cup but failed to take his homeland through from the World Cup qualifiers for Germany 2006.

A former coach of club sides Flamengo and Atletico Nacional of Medellin, he has also managed Honduras and Ecuador.