Colombia selection
The Argentine coach named 28 players and excluded several who seemed immovable.
Matthew Casierra.
Photo: EFE
By:
Futbolred Editorial
May 23, 2024, 01:29 p.m. m.
Néstor Lorenzo surprised, as usual, with his call-up to the Colombian National Team that will play two friendlies and then play the most important tournament of the year, the Copa América 2024.
In a list of 28 players, he called the usual players but reserved several surprises, not all of them easy to explain in light of the numbers.
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Colombia selection
The first, very notable, is that of goalkeeper Kevin Mier, a great figure in Cruz Azul and one of the best foreigners in Liga MX. At 24 years old he had been the third goalkeeper, behind Vargas and Montero. He is the replacement and many times the coach was recognized for his success in bringing him closer.
However, when choosing between him and David Ospina, who would return to Atlético Nacional after an unfortunate, injury-scarred move to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, he chose the veteran. It must be said that the Antioquian spent more than a year without activity, that he still called him in December for a couple of friendlies and finally trusted him for the June appointment in the United States.
Surprises on brand
The big news is the absence of Cristian Borja, from SC Braga in Portugal, who always performed in his previous calls but then, due to a physical problem, he gave the advantage and Lorenzo took a gamble for another veteran, Johan Mojica, who convinced him in the friendly tour against Spain and Romania.
In the midfield the big news is the return of Matheus Uribe, 33 years old and with only 15 games since August 2023, when he arrived at Al Sadd in Qatar, a gray season marked by physical problems. There is also Sebastián Gómez (27 years old), with 15 games this year in Coritiba in Brazil. Apparently, Juan Camilo Portilla, who had a great season in Talleres de Argentina, could not consolidate himself in his call.
‘Beheaded’ in attack
One of the big surprises of the call was, without a doubt, the absence of Mateo Cassierra (27 years old), from Zenit of Russia, who was not worth the 5 goals he just scored in the same match, since his pulse was Miguel Borja (31) ended up winning, whose great moment at River Plate, with 17 goals in 23 games this year, was very difficult for Lorenzo to ignore.
The dream that Falcao confessed in the last few hours, of returning despite his lack of continuity at Rayo Vallecano, will have to continue waiting.
2024-05-23 18:29:50
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