The news about the return of James Rodríguez to a call-up for the Colombian National Team has been giving way to another discussion: should he start against Brazil (November 11) and Paraguay (16) for the Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers?
In case of deciding to substitute, considering that he only played 4 games (354 minutes in total) in Al-Rayyan, of the Qatar League, and a duel against Brazil, for example, could require players with a more defensive cut , and many ask that a day of rest be used in Barranquilla, for the closing of the double date.
Assuming that this were the case, it would not be a new experience for the 10: of the 58 games he has played with the senior team, on 5 occasions he has been a substitute. Being very rigorous, you can add two more games that were friendly, almost for exhibition. In total, 7 innings from the bench.
And how did Colombia do when the southpaw was not a starter? There is the question! The balance in the figures is total: 3 games won, 3 lost and a draw.
James was a substitute in the friendlies against South Korea, when the tricolor team lost 2-1 against South Korea (March 26, 2019) and entered in the 46th minute, and against Panama, when they won 3-0 and appeared at the 65 minutes (June 4, 2019).
Then come the official competitions. For example, in Copa América he was an alternative on two occasions: in the United States 2016 event, when Colombia lost 2-3 against Costa Rica (June 12, 2016) and he took the field at minute 46; and in the 2019 Brazil Cup, in the 1-0 victory against Paraguay (June 23, 2019), in which he entered after 58 minutes of play.
In all the Qualifiers he would be a substitute only once: on August 31 and 2017, on the way to Russia 2018, in the very tough 0-0 draw against Venezuela, a game in which he had no participation.
Already in the World Cups he had to see – and suffer – on two occasions: in Colombia’s 1-4 victory against Japan on June 24, 2014, when he reached the 46th minute, he gave two assists and scored a goal; and four years later in Russia, in the 1-2 defeat against Japan, precisely when he replaced JuanFer Quintero at minute 59 (June 19, 2018).
The good news is that we now know that James does not have the title deed in Colombia, which may well start on the bench and be an option to finish games. The not so good one is that, obviously, it is better to have it in the field than to keep it. After all, who chooses to starve with a full cupboard?
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