With an invincibility of 24 games and avoiding the label of favorite, the tricolor will be measured on Friday against a Costa Rica that surprised by drawing goalless in its debut against Brazil on Monday in Inglewood, California, with an ultra-defensive approach.
The Colombians, who defeated Paraguay 2-1 in their Group D opener in Houston, Texas, will be looking for a win to guarantee their ticket to the second round with one match remaining until the end of the group stage.
“They are a team that we have to be very careful with, it won’t be easy for us,” said the coach. “They won’t go there just to defend themselves, I’m sure.”
Lorenzo, 58, said that the smaller size of the fields in the United States makes the defensive work easier for the team led by his compatriot Gustavo Alfaro, whom he considered “a great strategist.”
“The narrowness of the fields favors the team that presses. But we have to find ways, we have the players to resolve these types of situations,” he noted.
Talented attacking midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero, for his part, stressed that the set piece, one of the “strong points” of the coffee growers, can be vital to breaking down the lock of Costa Rica, owner of the youngest squad in the tournament.
“We have men with very good legs and height who can define us in aerial ball,” he said. “We have the weapons, we simply have to carry it out.”
The game at State Farm Stadium (10:00 p.m. GMT) will take place amid high temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the state of Arizona.
But the stifling heat will surely not be felt on the playing field because the home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, with capacity for 63,400 spectators, has an air conditioning system and a cover.
“It is difficult to train, we are training very late and trying to regulate a little to avoid dehydration of the players,” said the coach.
