The Colombian National Team officially closes the year 2023 this Saturday with its second friendly match of the tour of the United States, facing the Mexican national team, in Los Angeles (7 pm Caracol and RCN TV).
This Colombian team, a ‘C’ team, which does not have the main players competing in the tie, already won a first match against the Venezuelan under-23 team, 1-0. That was the first test that coach Néstor Lorenzo gave to these players he called for these games, with high points in some such as the full-back Samuel Velásquez and the midfielders Ian Poveda and Carlos Andrés Gómez.
The first challenge was minimally demanding, since the rival did little to test the national defense. It is expected that today, against a Mexican team that does not have its main players (because it is not a Fifa date), the level will increase and be a stronger challenge for the National Team.
Coach Néstor Lorenzo spoke about the work he has been able to do in these days of work with these players. “I want to thank the players for their willingness. They are games where they give up part of their rest days, also for those who wanted to come but couldn’t. These matches are made to broaden the spectrum of available players and have a closer knowledge of them, live with them, watch them train and play. We have seen good level performances and they give us a great range of players that we have in this process for the future,” he said.
The coach is expected to give continuity to several of the players he already had in the first game, but to introduce some possible variants. For example, one who hopes to have minutes is goalkeeper David Ospina, the most experienced on this team and who is coming off a long layoff due to his inactivity at Al Nassr in Arabia.
In his statements, Lorenzo took stock of his work in the Colombian national team and spoke about the options these players have for the future.
“It’s nice to look back and say that we overcame obstacles, but the idea is to go game by game and in each game there are difficulties regarding the team itself and the circumstances of the rival. The idea is that this group is not only versatile, but has a wide spectrum of players to draw from. Then the lists are limited, the numbers lead us to limit the calls, but the more there are to choose from, the problem is nice.”
Lorenzo’s great objective is to have more possibilities for when he requires a new player in his base team. That’s what these games are for. And the players try to give their best performance to convince and leave a light on for a possible new call-up.
In any case, Lorenzo has his sights set on the future, 2024, when the Copa América in the United States comes and the resumption of the qualifiers in September. The coach’s battle phrase is that this process must be strengthened with a title. “It is part of a step by step process that we have been doing and we always aspire to win. For now we are doing well, we are going to continue with that path and mentality so that the team continues to grow in order to achieve a goal, which is what we all want: we want to win something.”
The Colombian National Team is currently undefeated in the Lorenzo era and hopes to maintain that condition in this match against Mexico with which it closes a great year in 2023.
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2023-12-16 05:00:00
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