It took just eight minutes for Colombia to take the lead. Rodriguez's in-swinging corner was found by Jhon Cordoba, whose header beat goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera at his far post.
Referee Maurizio Mariani later pointed to the penalty spot when Mosquera brought down Jhon Arias as the winger went into the box. Rodriguez gave Mosquera no chance by firing the resulting spot-kick into the top-right corner, Xinhua reported.
Panama almost reduced the deficit in the 18th minute through Roderick Miller, whose header hit the post after Eric Davis' set piece.
Just before half time, Cafeteros made the score 3–0 with an assist from Luis Diaz. The Liverpool forward latched onto Rodriguez's perfectly weighted free kick from behind the halfway line and, with his first touch, deftly lifted a shot past Mosquera.
Panama fell further behind after halftime as it became more difficult for Colombia to create scoring chances.
Colombia's Richard Rios extended the lead with a low drive from outside the box in the 70th minute, while his teammate Miguel Borja, a 79th-minute substitute for Cordoba, sealed the 5–0 victory.
The Cafeteros are unbeaten in their last 27 matches dating back nearly two and a half years. All but three of those games have been in charge of Argentina manager Nestor Lorenzo, who replaced Reynaldo Rueda in June 2022.
Colombia will face either Brazil or Uruguay in Charlotte on July 10, with a spot in the final at stake.
"We scored early and that helped us control the game," Rodriguez, who has five assists so far in this tournament, said after the match. "I wanted to have a good Copa America and help the team reach the final. Now, we are one step closer to achieving it."
Referee Maurizio Mariani later pointed to the penalty spot when Mosquera brought down Jhon Arias as the winger went into the box. Rodriguez gave Mosquera no chance by firing the resulting spot-kick into the top-right corner, Xinhua reported.
Panama almost reduced the deficit in the 18th minute through Roderick Miller, whose header hit the post after Eric Davis' set piece.
Just before half time, Cafeteros made the score 3–0 with an assist from Luis Diaz. The Liverpool forward latched onto Rodriguez's perfectly weighted free kick from behind the halfway line and, with his first touch, deftly lifted a shot past Mosquera.
Panama fell further behind after halftime as it became more difficult for Colombia to create scoring chances.
Colombia's Richard Rios extended the lead with a low drive from outside the box in the 70th minute, while his teammate Miguel Borja, a 79th-minute substitute for Cordoba, sealed the 5–0 victory.
The Cafeteros are unbeaten in their last 27 matches dating back nearly two and a half years. All but three of those games have been in charge of Argentina manager Nestor Lorenzo, who replaced Reynaldo Rueda in June 2022.
Colombia will face either Brazil or Uruguay in Charlotte on July 10, with a spot in the final at stake.
"We scored early and that helped us control the game," Rodriguez, who has five assists so far in this tournament, said after the match. "I wanted to have a good Copa America and help the team reach the final. Now, we are one step closer to achieving it."
