A monumental performance by Wuilker Faríñez, French Lens goalkeeper, saved a point this Thursday for Venezuela in his second outing in the Copa América. The 0-0, first in the tournament, occurred in Goiania against a very offensive team colombian who had more than half a dozen clear chances to score, but they were avoided by the 23-year-old goalkeeper.
At the Pedro Ludovico Teixeira Olympic Stadium, in Goiania, the team led by Portuguese José Peseiro also achieved its first point in the Copa América in the match on the second day, which leaves the coffee team as provisional leader of Group B with four points while waiting for the duel between Brazil and Peru.
The Vinotinto defense came out nervous and the coffee attackers began to take advantage of that to steal balls in the opposite field and seek speed, mainly, from Duván Zapata, which caused headaches to centrals Francisco La Mantía and Luis Martínez.
Colombia’s first clear opportunity was started in the 13th minute by Edwin Cardona from the left side, where today he found many spaces, with a long cross for winger Daniel Muñoz, who first sent a trailing ball that Yerry Mina tried to push to the bottom of the network but did not reach. Reinaldo Rueda’s team continued to attack, led by a very plugged Cardona, and had clear opportunities to score with two shots from Zapata and another from Boca Juniors midfielder that were saved by an elastic Faríñez.
In the second half, the coffee growers continued attacking but changed sides, this time they bet on the right, where Juan Guillermo Cuadrado began to be more influential. Just the Juventus footballer sent a cross in the 53rd minute that Matheus Uribe controlled with his chest, who then made a Chilean and took a very good shot that did not enter the goal because Faríñez took the ball with a slap.
Venezuela, meanwhile, had many difficulties to pass the middle of the field and create danger in the Colombian field, since the incursions to the counterattack of Cristian Cásseres and Fernando Aristeguieta were stopped most of the time by the tireless Wilmar Barrios and by the centrals.
The coffee team began to lose intensity, so Rueda decided to send Jaminton Campaz, who at age 21 made his debut with the senior team, and the winger Luis Díaz, who gave his team a new look. Despite the fact that the game turned rocky, with many side and side fouls, Colombia maintained the momentum and continued creating opportunities with Uribe, whose forays into the area were key for his team, and Miguel Borja, who gave mobility to the Colombian attack , and that, as in the rest of the game, they were saved by Faríñez.
In the end, with Colombia turned on the attack, the referee expelled Diaz in the 93rd minute for a stomp on an opponent and neither team could break zero on the scoreboard.
Colombia, which will play Peru on Sunday, reaches four points in the continental tournament, while Venezuela, which fell 3-0 in its debut with Brazil and will face Ecuador on Sunday, got its first point of the tournament from the hand of a spectacular Faríñez.
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