Colombia beat Paraguay 2-1 in the first match in Group D of the America Cup. He was lethal in the air and showed carelessness in defense.
The victory in Houston and Brazil’s 0-0 draw against Costa Rica have the National Team first in its area with three points. He pushed himself harder against a very physical, dedicated opponent who avoided passing sequences and controlled Luis Díaz.
He delivered in his debut because he found goal alternatives in aerial football. Two crosses from James were enough to take the lead. He lacked more continuity to take care of her and definition. These are the conclusions of their start in the tournament.
James is indispensable
Captain He was calm in the most difficult minutes with Paraguay well grouped and ready to launch counterattacks. With Luis Díaz surrounded he found space on the left. From there he provided the assist for Daniel Muñoz’s goal at the far post. From the other side he sent a similar free kick pass in Jefferson Lerma’s 2-0 lead.
“He has a glove on his foot, he puts it very well. The still ball is not that it is not practiced but it can come out and they marked us in the zone and the motto was to go ahead of the man in the zone. Lerma jumps very well“explained coach Néstor Lorenzo.
It also helped when putting together lines to recover and contain the reaction after the discount.
Without Lucumí there are advantages in defense
He started very focused, firm in the area and with just enough coverage on the wings. He was injured at 23′ when stopping a shot by Julio Enciso. Yerry Mina replaced him and there was anxiety in defense. He lost security, there were no coordinated movements and the air strength that Colombia had in the opposing area was ceded in its own area. Paraguay found Mina close to Daniel Muñoz, Johan Mojica far from his sector looking at the center and Davinson Sánchez surpassed with Enciso’s cross shot at the far post.
Muñoz contributes as a right winger
Without a defined winger on the right, since Jhon Arias plays inside, Daniel appropriates this intention on that side. This is how he arrived for the first goal with a header from a pass from James.
He is always crouching to arrive. Apart from having the power to make the run, he arrives well and reads the game well. At times he told him not to go so much because we needed to have possession and when the player appears there the temptation is to throw it at him, but sometimes he is too alone. He is a player who is giving us a lot of satisfaction and does very well in the Premier,” the coach explained.
Castaño can be a replacement for Lerma
Jefferson Lerma came out in the 68th minute and the team lost personality in the half. Lorenzo replaced him with Matheus Uribe, less accustomed to being a midfielder. Paraguay rushed Colombia and dominated for a brief stretch. Kevin Castaño’s profile is more suited to that position in case of another emergency.
