Carlos Gómez blames spiritual problems for Colombia's poor form in the Brasileirão

What happened?

Colombia's Carlos Gómez blamed 'spiritual problems' for Vasco da Gama's poor form in the Brasileirão. The Colombian forward spoke about the match against Mirassol, in which his team secured a 1-1 draw in São Januário.

Gómez scored the equalizing goal at 34 minutes of the second half, after Igor Formiga had given Mirassol the lead in the first half due to a collective mistake by Vasco in a corner kick executed by Reinaldo. The draw left the Carioca club with 21 points and in 17th place in the Brasileirão 2026.

Why it matters for Colombia

Vasco da Gama's poor form is a concern for the Colombian national team, as Gómez is a key player for the team. The Colombian national team has been on a streak of 3 wins and 2 draws in their last 5 matches, and Vasco da Gama's poor form could affect Gómez's confidence.

What comes next?

Vasco da Gama's next match will be on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. (Colombia time) against Independiente Medellín, in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana playoffs. The Colombian national team has to be aware of the situation and support Gómez in his difficult moment.

Gómez asked for support for the team in the midst of the poor form. "We are human beings. We make mistakes. Nobody wants to make mistakes. Keep supporting us, we will give our best in all the matches", he said.

The draw did not change the underlying problem: the team continues among the last four in the table. The newspaper also noted that, even in the third match under Pedro Emanuel's management, the team controlled parts of the game but gave up the result due to a defensive error that proved decisive.

The elimination of Brazil in the 2026 World Cup reopened the debate about the crisis of their national team and pushed a broader hypothesis: that the advance of evangelicalism in the country may have accompanied the loss of the jogo bonito, although specialists warn that there are no evidence to sustain a causal relationship.

The underlying data explains why the theory found an echo. According to figures from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, if in 1990 about 9% of the population attended Pentecostal churches, by 2021 evangelicals represented about 31% of Brazilians.

The Colombian national team has to be aware of the situation and support Gómez in his difficult moment. The team has to work more on the mental and spiritual aspects to improve their performance on the field.