2023-10-03 10:00:47
The Colombian roster that faced Venezuela on the first date of the Qualifiers. Those above, from left to right: Rafael Santos Borré, Jhon Lucumí, Camilo Vargas, Jefferson Lerma and Yerry Mina. Those below, from left to right: Matheus Uribe, Deiver Machado, John Arias, Luis Díaz, Daniel Muñoz and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado.
Photo: AFP – JUAN BARRETO
The next matches of the Colombian national team are already around the corner. The tricolor will have to face Uruguay on Thursday, October 12, that is, next week, at the Metropolitano de Barranquilla and then travel to Quito to face Ecuador on Tuesday, October 16.
They will be two important challenges for the national team on its way to the 2026 World Cup, if the results of this date in the last qualifier for an orbital event are taken into account: the Charrúas won 3 to 0 in Barranquilla and the Ecuadorians thrashed 6 to 1 to the tricolor, commanded at that time by the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz. Results that were key in the failure towards Qatar 2022.
Currently, both teams, which are direct rivals in the qualifying rounds, have not lost the thread of their process and continue to cause problems for the opposing defenses, thanks to their strong and decisive players in the offensive who, in seconds, might put them in trouble. to Colombia.
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For Néstor Lorenzo this call can be a headache, since there is concern in the defensive zone. Yerry Mina and John Lucumí, the central couple in the last few games, will be out due to injury.
They might be joined by Jéfferson Lerma, who has not played minutes with Crystal Palace due to injury, and Johan Mojica, who was injured in his last game with Osasuna. We have to wait to see the status of Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, who yesterday trained with Inter Milan and today might add minutes in the Champions League.
The possible replacements
For the central saga, possibly, the calls to the starter will be Carlos Cuesta, from Genk in Belgium, and Dávinson Sánchez, from Galatasaray, who are undergoing a process in the national team and might take on two of the most important duels of the year with experience.
When thinking regarding the variants, places are opened for decisive players, such as Andrés Llinás, from Milonarios; Nicolás Hernández, from Internacional de Porto Alegre; Alexis Pérez, from Al-Wasl of Saudi Arabia; Andrés Reyes, from the New York Bulls of the MLS, and Stefan Medina, from Monterrey. Names like Kevin Mantilla, from the Colombian U-20 team, and Talleres from Argentina might even come up.
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Given the possible absence of Mojica, names such as Frank Fabra might emerge as a substitute for Deiver Machado, from Lens, who has emerged as the left back in Néstor Lorenzo’s process.
Further down the field, to replace Lerma, there would be Wílmar Barrios, from Zenit Saint Petersburg, who might be a key player to stop players like Nicolás de la Cruz and Federico Valverde, from Uruguay, as well as Moisés Caicedo and Énner Valencia, from Ecuador. Names such as Kevin Castaño, from Cruz Azul, who has already worn the tricolor shirt might also be taken into account.
In the event that Cuadrado is not in optimal condition, the ideal replacement would be Jorge Carrascal, with a great performance once morest Venezuela and Chile.
So a spot would open for a creative midfielder like Juan Fernando Quintero, with continuity in Racing, or Edwin Cardona, who has had good performances with América de Cali.
The call-up of James Rodríguez, who has improved his performance in São Paulo, has not been ruled out.
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Although the critical area for injuries is the defense, there are also doubts in the attack. Against Venezuela and Chile, several clear goal options were forgiven and only one goal was scored.
In addition to the inevitable players such as Luis Díaz, Rafael Santos Borré and Jhon Jader Durán, players such as Hárold Preciado, top scorer in the Mexican League, are expected to add minutes.
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