Colombia have announced that Carlos Queiroz has been assigned with the head coach role following his departure from Iran earlier in the month. The Portuguese tactician had been with the Asian heavyweights for the past eight years but he has now been given a fresh challenge with Colombia, who are keen to make progress in the Copa America as well as qualify for another World Cup.

Speaking to reporters, the former Manchester United assistant revealed that it’s an honour to take up the job and he is hoping to keep up with the country’s recent uptrend in terms of results, he said: “For me it’s an honour, and I’m happy to have the trust of the federation. First off, I intend to take care of the great tradition here that has grown larger over the years.

“From there, my mission is to improve in all facets. We are going to be demanding. I have many colleagues and friends who work with national teams. Everyone knows that this is the most difficult region for qualification. It’s like winning half of a world championship. We have to prepare extremely well.”

Queiroz has the opportunity to test the squad during the international break next month but his first competitive challenge should come up at the Copa America scheduled in Brazil during the summer. Failure in the competition may not necessary spell the end of his managerial reign, however, given the country’s primary focus should lie on qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals.

Since the previous World Cup, Colombia have played four friendlies and out of those, they have managed three wins and one draw. The stalemate, however, came against Argentina and this suggests that they have plenty of room for improvement in order to get the better of some of the elite nations in their continent including Brazil and Uruguay.