Jhon Córdoba and Carlos Cuesta were the big new additions to the starting lineup for the Colombian national team for its second outing in Group D of the 2024 Copa América against Costa Rica.
The case of the defender is due to the need to replace Jhon Lucumí, a regular starter but who was injured in the 26th minute of the 2-1 victory against Paraguay.
This is a surprising defender, as he only played 8 games during the Lorenzo era, for a total of 642 minutes, according to Sofascore.
Why him and not Yerry Mina, who was the one who played most of the game in Houston? In fact, that day, when Lucumí asked for a change, the coach bet on Mina’s experience and left the younger player on the bench after the warm-up. Now he is his starter.
And the adjustment is due to the fact that Mina can provide less speed than Cuesta when it comes to direct duels, a reason that was considered sufficient to have a duo of central defenders with Dávinson Sánchez who does not have much experience, compared to Lucumí and Dávinson or even Dávinson and Mina.
Changed the usual 9
The other big news on Colombia’s starting roster is Jhon Córdoba, perhaps the most surprising because for Lorenzo there seemed to be no discussion of Rafael Santos Borré as a permanent 9.
It is striking that, beyond the last two goals in friendlies, he has barely totalled 179 minutes in 5 games in the Lorenzo era.
Why him and not a more mobile striker like Borré? It’s one of those cards coaches play to confuse their opponents, who surely weren’t expecting a player in the box. Lorenzo is betting on giving Juan Pablo Vargas and his team problems in the five-man defence and causing an error and a dead ball that could open the door.
Córdoba has in its favor that it comes with great continuity, a good scoring streak and good integration with the group. Your golden opportunity to shine in a points competition is now.
#Colombia
