Queiroz has proven to be very pragmatic and use different lineups based on the teams he is facing. He has mentioned in interviews that we can see the two playing together. What I doubt is that we will see them together against Argentina. Maybe against Qatar.
If its one it should definitely be Duvan. Duvan is miles ahead if we play with a single striker. He's better at setting up others, better in the air, better hold up play, better defensively and Falcao is probably still the better pure finisher but based on Duvan's form right now its probably not by much. Its not close right now how much better of an all round player Duvan is since Falcao has some real weaknesses in his game outside of finishing and if CQ doesn't have the balls to play by far the best striker then we are going to have real problems. Can't be sentimental in soccer.
I am much more worried of his hard on for Villa then starting Falcao personally. Dude isn’t a zombie and is just in a trash team Zapata currently has 0 goals in yellow fine hasn’t been given fair shots. I want him to start next friendly but when you make Falcao captain you aren’t going to bench him 2 games later. I fear we will play with 2 strikers until he builds up the balls to bench Falcao
The whole front attacking line seems up for grabs and unclear right now. Muriel or Diaz on the left? Zapata or Falcao in the middle? Vila or Cuadrado on the right? Two #9s? The Friendlies will be crucial and hopefully can clarify what is the best combination. Or at least give us a couple of good combinations for different teams.
I'm fine with him tinkering during friendlies to try and find what works. I just don't want us to hamstring our whole lineup to fit in Falcao, it doesn't make sense. I think it would be interesting to see Cuadrado in a midfield 3 and a front 3 of Muriel/Duvan/Diaz with Villa coming off the bench. James/Barrios/Cuadrado could work well and with Diaz/Muriel/Cuadrado James could sit a bit deeper and pull the strings getting on the ball a lot. Its a shame Quintero got injured, but it probably makes CQ's job a little easier because he can play more traditional lineups without having to fit in James and Quintero when he has a pragmatic philosophy.
Love how people are so quick to be like die Falcao.not saying I don’t agree or that Duvan club form is better But when Pekerman kept shoving Abel and Sanchez in the starting line up. It was ok. Pekerman was fired for bringing the starter of A Epl team that cost them 30 million but wouldn’t bench a bench player at Dallas FC.
Duvan must be a starter. Period. Either as a lone striker or next to Falcao. You should be the dumbest coach in the world not to use Duvan in his current form.
With our roster if we can play the formation we did at the WC with Duvan in Teos role With a healthy Quintero would be magical. Like people said Duvan might not score as much but he does do way more to build up play.
There's more factors than club form when it comes to starting for a National team. There's other variables and little nuances behind the scenes and in the locker room that come into play. And of course strategical formations that manager cling to. I do hope we play with both Zapata and Falcao but not sure we will see it because Queiroz has a track record.
All true, yet he still must play also according what we so from him in the national team. As for today, he has advantage on every striker we have. Only the experience of Falcao may be valuable but as for the form and physical stats, he must be a starter as a part of a duo or alone.
Let's see what happens. I have a feeling if we go one striker against Argentina Zapata will not be the striker. but who knows? If he goes out there and kicks Bolivia and Peru's arses with Golazos then it would be hard pressed not to see him out there. All up to Queiroz of course.
At this point with the sample size we have of Falcao alone up top in games where you don't have a ton of possession I don't think so. When you have a guy in Duvan who is a specialist in playing alone up top and we saw his recent performance playing alone up top away to Napoli vs Falcao its a simple decision that an experienced coach should be able to make with ease.
football isnt written and it doesnt have a manual..........for example duvan perfromance with corea wasnt unexpected.... Other point to consider is that duvan is beneficiating a lot of gasperini system and that atalanta is attacking with a lot of volumen......that factors favor his game.......
My biggest point is football isn't played with Names or simply because someone is a star we shouldn't auto put them in a lineup. Falcao can play and he's still valuable, but if we hamstring him in where he's not in positions to succeed then we aren't really making tactically smart decisions. If Falcao's hold up play wasn't great and he wasn't great defending from the front but he had a ton of speed to get behind a high line then sure there's a tactical reason to play him and try and score goals, but he doesn't have speed to go along with poor hold up play which means we can't retain possession to move up the field and we can't spring a quick counter because he doesn't have the speed to get behind. Muriel and Duvan are both much better options in those scenarios, they both defend well they both have speed to get behind and they both have better hold up play. Duvan is a perfect player for that situation because he can get behind as well. Duvan's latest game agasint Napoli they largely didn't have a ton of the ball and played against a team that controls possession and you're going to have to work a lot alone to keep your team in the game and bring more players into play, he did it expertly and was arguably man of the match doing a ton of dirty work as well as setting up and scoring a goal.
Duvan should be the first choice. But benching Falcao is going to be a tough decision because you're basically telling him that he is rip. Is Falcao mentally prepared to hear that message at this point?
I personally don't think either of them should be benched. It's time to switch back to two strikers. They co-op very well when they played together, why not to stick with it? In general our strikers don't handle so well when the coach put them alone up front. Our best performances where when Teo and Falcao where duo.
Another big win For Atalanta and another man of the match performance from Duvan. Worked hard all game and provided a reference point, was unlucky not to have a goal or two from good saves and set up the 2nd goal after creating a few good chances for his teammates. He often moved wide and provided a threat from there and put in very good balls into the box when doing so, well rounded performance again. 7! chances created and 6 key passes, impressive.
I really hope we get to see that type of hold up and distribution from Duvan in a side with James and Quintero at some point in the next few years. They would feast.
On a positive note, Atalanta making strong strides towards a CL finish in Serie A! If Inter can get drop some points, a potential 3rd place finish is a likely!