Alfaro’s team is betting on the zero they already achieved against Brazil and must be attacked with intelligence.
Colombia vs Paraguay
Photo: Colombian Football Federation
By:
Futbolred Editorial Team
June 27, 2024, 08:49 p.m. m.
It is good news every time people talk about the Colombian National Team for about two years, they are illusions and the highest expectations are realities.
Néstor Lorenzo’s team, which has gone 24 games without a defeat (the longest unbeaten streak in the world today and which is just three wins away from becoming a record in the country), will face Costa Rica this Friday at 5:00 pm (Colombian time), which is coming off a 0-0 draw against Brazil, no less.
MORE OF
Colombia selection
That tightened Group D of the 2024 Copa América and could play to Colombia’s advantage, as long as they add three more points and can certify their qualification to the quarterfinals with 6 points, after the 2-1 victory against Paraguay in the debut.
There are many differences: in terms of payroll, the Colombian team is worth 282.9 million euros compared to 21.93 million for its rival; there are four clashes in the history of matches, three of which were won by the Tricolors; not to mention the current situation, with Lorenzo’s two-year process against Alfaro’s one of just a few months… it doesn’t seem like such an even duel. Although that, in the end, is determined by the ball.
This is how Colombia arrives
The only news in the team of James, Díaz, Arias and company is that Jhon Lucumí failed to recover from a muscle problem he suffered against Paraguay and will not be available for this second outing. Complicated when dealing with an undisputed headline.
That is why Lorenzo, not a fan of making radical changes, will have to play at the back and choose between Carlos Cuesta and Yerry Mina, the latter the one who replaced Lucumí against the Paraguayans and had an acceptable performance. As things stand, the defense will once again be the traditional Caucasian one, with Dávinson Sánchez.
Afterwards, as a team that wins is not touched, they would remain the same as the first outing in Houston, where there were high peaks of performance, regardless of how short the score may seem.
Vargas remains in goal and Mojica and Muñoz as full-backs, Richard Ríos remains as Jefferson Lerma’s partner in the middle because it is the safest duo so far and Uribe would continue to be an alternative; and the attack is not discussed with Díaz, Arias, Borré and, the director of the orchestra, James.
The goal is not to lose your head, to have a lot of mobility to find small cracks in a Costa Rican block that appears firm and very fixed on its arch, and to show off the effectiveness of this Lorenzo era to take advantage of the little that remains, assuming that the Goal is everyone’s job, not just the attackers.
Probable lineups
Colombia: Vargas; Munoz, Sanchez, Mina, Mojica; Rios, Uribe, Arias, Rodriguez; Borre and Diaz.
Costa Rica: Sequeira; Mitchell, Vargas, Calvo; Bran Flores, Galo, Quirós, Lassiter, Aguilera; Zamora and Ugalde.
Stadium: University of Phoenix, Arizona
Time: 5:00 pm (Colombian time)
TV: Caracol, RCN, DSports
Online: www.futbolred.com
