The Colombian football team, led by Argentine Nestor Lorenzo, confirmed that it is one of the candidates to win the upcoming 2024 Copa America, by defeating the American team, today, Saturday, with a score of 1-5, in a friendly match held in Landover (Maryland, USA). United States of America).
The Colombians are unbeaten in 22 straight matches (unbeaten in South American qualifiers), and had just beaten Spain in London (0-1) and Romania in Madrid (3-2), while the USA won the UEFA Nations League. CONCACAF in March.
The locals played in a 4-3-3 while the visitors used a 4-2-3-1 with Rafael Santos Borre as the striker.
The Colombian team, which wore a black shirt, began to control the ball and needed only six minutes to advance on the scoreboard with a right foot from Fluminense’s Brazilian player Jun Arias, which entered the top corner.
The Colombians persisted, and a cross from Jefferson Lerma ended up in the net after a stunning overhead kick from Rafael Santos Borre, who last year scored another goal with the same stunning overhead kick against Japan.
In the final minutes of the first half, the American team put pressure on Colombia, creating many dangerous opportunities, including Christian Pulisic’s header that hit the right post.
American coach Gregg Berhalter replaced Pulisic, the Croatian Milan midfielder, at halftime after he had been the outstanding player in the host team so far.
The locals entered the field with better focus in the second half and in the 58th minute Timothy Weah, assisted by Folarin Balagon, scored his sixth goal with his right foot.
The reaction of the coffee farmers was that Colombian national team star Luis Diaz, the English Liverpool striker who scored 11 goals in 47 matches for his country, excelled in several plays that were close to ending with the ball in the net, but he was replaced by Luis Sinistra.
Benefiting from the recovery, more precise in passes and effective in shots, Colombia imposed its experience, spark and muscle, and in the 77th minute Richard Reus scored, in the 85th minute Jorge Carrascal followed and in the 88th minute, Luis Sinistera closed the win. .
The Colombian national team will face its Bolivian counterpart next Saturday in Hartford (Connecticut, USA) in its last match before the Copa America Championship, in which Colombia is in Group D, along with Brazil, Paraguay and Costa Rica.
The United States will play Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia in Group C.
The 2024 Copa America will start on June 20.
Colombia took advantage of the match to publish the team’s new official song, “El rythm que nos une”, in which cumbia and reggaeton come together.
With information and photos from EFE
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