Colombia qualified for the final phase of the South American Sub-20 that is played in Chile thanks to two equalities, one goalless against Argentina, the other one against Venezuela, and two wins, one comfortably against Peru, and finishing the groups by winning by the least difference to the hosts, Chile. Now the tough exams will begin to which those led by Carlos Paniagua will seek to add as much as they can to qualify.
His debut will be against Brazil on Monday, April 18, starting at 5:30 in the afternoon at the Nicolás Chahuán Nazar Stadium in La Calera. A very tough match, but it is better to come out of a tough ‘bogeyman’ and then face the games against Venezuela and Uruguay.
Carlos Paniagua will have to go out looking for goals from minute one against Brazil and with the orderly system that he has shown, and that has allowed him to reach this stage undefeated. The defense has been consolidated with Natalia Giraldo in goal, Ángela Barón, Ana María Guzmán, Kelly Caicedo and Sintia Cabezas who was a starter against Chile and looked very good.
Perhaps the best thing in that last game of the group stage was that defensive order that made the Austral team uncomfortable and that did not allow the goal guarded by Natalia Giraldo to be violated. Gisela Robledo will be the scoring threat, who has just been selected by Conmebol in the team of the first instance, like Giraldo and Ana María Guzmán.
Gabriela Rodríguez will be a fundamental piece accompanying the versatility and versatility of Gisela Robledo alternating positions on the band, or getting more into the center of the field. Mariana Muñoz will also be important in this sacrificial work, since she is an offensive midfielder, but against the australes she supported a lot in the defense, rejecting important shipments to the area.
The only doubt would be the attack front, although Ingrid Guerra started in the first three initial matches, Carlos Paniagua decided to leave her as a substitute in the final game against Chile. The loneliness for the area references has complicated the coffee attacks.
Although there is positivism, the face against the Brazilians in the South American U-20 has not been favorable. Colombia has never been able to beat them in previous editions. The balance has left six confrontations, four coffee defeats and two draws, these equalities, both without goals.
The first time they met was on March 17, 2010, Colombia and Brazil already had their ticket to the World Cup in Germany and in the final, the Colombians were defeated 0-2. On five occasions they have met in the final phase, and it will be the fourth time that this is the initial match in the last instance between the two.
In the minds of the players and the coaching staff, the only thing to think about is starting in the best way. Kelly Caicedo maintained, ‘we want to qualify for the World Cup and bring joy to the country’.
Thus, at a press conference, Caicedo analyzed his next rivals, from Brazil he maintained, ‘we have been working, the teacher has already shown us something about the rival that is coming. We’re going out to win the game. It is a complicated rival, we are full of energy, we are going to face it in the best way. We are convinced of what we have’.
The rivals will be Brazil, Venezuela and Uruguay, and Kelly analyzed the rivals, ‘the four teams want to go out and win, they want a place in the World Cup, that is our objective. Every team has a great offensive line.
A South American is a very short tournament that is characterized by causing a very marked physical wear, on this, the central defender commented, ‘we are all 100%. The break has been very good for us, the days have served to have more clarity and time to see the rival’.
Finally, he commented on how they are preparing for the match against Brazil, ‘we have been working on keeping the ball still. Yes, it has cost us, but I think that for tomorrow’s game we will face it in the best way. We really want to qualify for the World Cup and bring joy to the country’.
