There are just a few hours left until the second outing of the Colombian National Team, this Friday against Costa Rica, for group D of the Copa América.
Néstor Lorenzo’s team is coming off a 2-1 victory in its debut against Paraguay, a match in which, although the score seems low, the national team dominated and victory was practically beyond doubt.
Goals from Muñoz and Lerma gave us peace of mind at the start of a group that has serious problems ahead of it, starting of course with Brazil.
However, before that commitment, always challenging, there is an opportunity to arrive with the tranquility of classification to the quarterfinals assured and it is this Friday’s duel with Costa Rica, Gustavo Alfaro’s team that surprised by drawing 0-0 against those led by Dorival jr.
A situation that has conditioned both teams is the intense heat these days in the western United States, specifically in Arizona. The training plans could not be fulfilled because at 8 in the morning local time the average temperature was already 35 degrees Celsius and it did not drop even well into the night. Fortunately, the match will be played in an air-conditioned stadium, with an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius.
Photo:
Colombian Football Federation
Forced change
What Lorenzo knows is that for this match in Glendale, Arizona, he will not have Jhon Lucumí, who was injured in the debut against Paraguay 26 minutes into the game. A muscle problem is being treated for now, but the plan without it will have to be modified. Another positive development is that Lerma’s discomfort does not take him out of the game and has already been resolved within the medical staff, just like the hard blow that Ríos received.
The good news for Colombia is that there are reliable and experienced alternatives: Carlos Cuesta and Yerry Mina are available, in fact the Cauca native was the one chosen by Lorenzo against the Paraguayans and his performance was acceptable.
That is the reason why this Friday it is most likely that the historic duo of Mina and Dávinson Sánchez will be repeated, since Cuesta is more complementary with Lucumí, with whom he shared several seasons at Genk in Belgium.
That being the case, the most likely lineup for Colombia against Costa Rica would be:
Camilo Vargas; Daniel Muñoz, Davinson Sánchez, Yerry Mina, Jhoan Mojica; Jefferson Lerma, Richard Ríos, Jhon Arias; James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz; Rafael Borré.
