I think the team has lacked consistency through out the WCQ. Most people are stuck with th last couple of games we beat Venezuela and Bolivia but forget that we really struggled for a while and Lorenzo has no response. We are a James dependent team and when he is not playing well or the rival is physical/intense then we struggle. we also don’t have a solid defense. Our defenders constantly make silly mistakes. Also, Lorenzo is a mediocre DT again, he had a lot of credit due to the Copa America but in key moments has shown to lack clarity.
Fair points. But I do think that we have time to improve within the next 100 days. I am genuinely worried the most about injuries. It would be lovely if we enter a world cup without costly injuries hindering us.
Fair points. The inconsistency after the Copa America was not fun to watch at times. We could have played much better. Some of it was Lorenzo. Some of it was defensive lapses at bad times. Some of it was strikers missing way too many opportunities and chances. {Cordoba was just not mentally ready to be the man and he has probably lost his starting spot for good. ) That said, we were not blown out in any match. We scored the most goals ever in a qualifying tournament and finished in third place. So it was not all gloom and doom. I think the best thing to take away from the last two matches is that we got our swagger back. That and the fact Suarez is now a major part of the offense. Since that day in Venezuela he has really looked like a star striker in Portugal. If Sporting Suarez is on the field this Summer and scores like he does in Portugal then it should give us all hope. That and other positive factors at least give me hope.
If we look at the Copa America team that faced Argentina in the Final we should be better than that team. Lucumi is better than Cuesta. Munoz is better than Santi. Suarez should be better than Cordoba. The James situation does give me some negative vibes and it will be difficult to replicate his fantastic form from that tournament but that is probably the only thing I see that is glaringly worse when compared to that tournament Final squad. Bench quality is about the same. Although not having Sini may hurt. (He played well against Uruguay. ) But we have younger guys who have very good potential at that position.
I don’t think we can say Lorenzo is mediocre. The results show otherwise. Went from not qualifying and having a historically bad drought of goals to qualifying 3rd, long unbeaten streaks, beat both Brazil and Argentina (should have beat Argentina twice), and obviously a great Copa America run that ended in an overtime lost to the world champions He is not perfect, but he has done a superb job even if some of his subs are questionable (feels like everyone says that about every manager)
I don't have doubts in the sense of thinking that we well crash under pressure, but I don't think we have a great team, so my hopes are not so high. We are mainly dependent on two players who we don't have adequate replacements for, and while the rest of the team seems to have some depth, most of them are just average players. Unfortunately, since the WC is a short tournament, and knowing that cards and injuries happen, it is almost certain that we will not have our best 11 when we face tough teams in elimination games. In order for us to go deep into the bracket, we need James and Lucho to be at their best, for two or three other players to step up (Suarez, Arias and Muñoz come to mind), and for our keepers and defenders to have an almost error-free string of games.
I think both Lorenzo and Pekerman are considered very favorable because of James and his form. Pre both of them non of our coaches had him. Rueda didn't want to use him and we all saw how that went. Pre James.... Falcao didn't really score for us. We had no one making assist. IT was very very dark times. I want to see Lorenzo without James (he still will have Diaz who is arguably better but even then won't have him for long). Pekerman had James/Cuadrado and Lorenzo has Diaz/James. While Diaz is much better than Cuadrado in every way having Armero/Zuniga running up and down the flanks it was defiantly a significantly better team.
We don't necessarily have to have a great team to win though. Or a great manager. We just need a team that believes they are great and is comfortable within the tactics given to them. That was part of the fun about the run in the Copa America. You could see the team play with such joy and confidence. The fans really getting them pumped up. (The fans fighting off Uruguay players who were dumb enough to instigate things but that is another story.) I think that can be replicated. Colombia seems to feed off the energy from the stands like no other team really. The crowd usually helps when it is a sea of yellow cheering them on. And this goes back to the Pekerman days in 2014 when James first burst onto the scene.
Lots of good points here and very well thought out. all are valid concerns and considerations as of right now. a lot can happen between now and June. * Look at Brazil.... they just lost Rodrygo who has been integral to the NT since the 22WC. * Mbappe's knee is now a concern - if there is a French version of our group, i am sure they are all spinning their wheels on various lineup scenarios... * Jude Bellingham for England is dealing with hamstring issues. * Fortunately for us, Munoz is back and playing 90 minutes regulalry and i imagine Lerma and Quintero will be back from their injuries soon. As for James...your guess is as good as mine * the march friendlies are very important in my eyes (i do not care if we win against Croatia / France - i hope Nestor does not show his hand in these games) because there's a number of players who i think need to see minutes because they could be vital x-factors in tournaent play: Deossa, Carbonero, Gomez, Yaser, Portilla, Puerta, Cucho - the usual suspects we have been hammering about for months now... * i've said this several times, but this tournament is going to be all about lineup management and timing of subs - if you look at any world cup going back to 1958, the teams that make it to the final have a different starting 11 in between game 1 and the final. which is more the reason why we need to come out the gates with early goals and possession against Uzbekistan and ___ so that we can make early subs and keep legs fresh and play with some sort of breathing room against Portugal. those first two games in Mexico in elevation will be quite a test @HomietheClown to your point about the crowd helping us....i want to agree with you, but i was in the crowd for CA16 when we eliminated Peru - the game went to penalties and it shouldn't have. We should have put them away during the initial 90 minutes and the players were gassed - i still have a vivid memory of Cardona "running" and i promise you, he looked like he was stuck in molasses ... i was also at the 24CA final and it was a pro Colombia crowd and as the game went on, you saw the experience of big games kick in for Argentina and the tiredness of our players was starting to show. plus the subs Nestor used really sucked out the life ouf of people in the crowd - at least the people around me all groaned when the first 3 subs were Borre, Castano, Quintero....and then Uribe, Borja and Carrascal made us go "that's it?"
You can look at the Peru match glass half empty but we struggle in penalty shootouts so at least that is one of the few that have gone our way the last decade or so. But point well taken. The majority of our matches with the crowd in our favor usually comes out golden for us. Or at least give us an extra boost and intangibles we can usually rely on when compared to other teams. The Copa America Final was botched in many ways. Some things out of our control like Lucumi getting injured game one against Paraguay. Or such a weird long delay due to security and crazy fanatics. Some things in our control like Munoz losing his cool when he shouldn't have to miss the match and Lorenzo's ultra-conservative tactics. That leans into things we should be skeptical about and keep us level headed as fans because those types of things can bite us in the butt. Hopefully Lorenzo has learned some lessons and our players (and fans) keep their cool. That can help us out for a deep run.
They got lucky; very overrated team playing nobodies for years to maintain a less than creditable "streak". Hell that same coach just quit today. Germany and Netherlands are not even in the conversation for favorites.
You asked why people would rate them ahead of Colombia. I answered it. Lucky or not Morocco went further than we have ever made it. They also have a very good youth setup winning the Sub 20 World Cup and Olympics. So it is not that crazy for neutrals to say they are better than us. Germany and Netherlands went a long way in the Euros and they historically do well in World Cups. They both have good youngsters coming up. They can be very tough in this tournament to beat if they live up to expectations.
France is arguably the deepest team in the world right now when it comes to striker, wingers, attacking midfielders. They can field like four different teams that would be competitive against most teams on earth. Their problem in my opinion is their back line and keeper are not up to the standards of past World Cup Champions. Don't get me wrong their depth at those positions are very good but not as good as '98 or 2018.
1. France: As everyone here says, their depth from the middle up, is astounding. 2. Spain: Probably not as deep upfront, but more spred-out and balanced. 3. Argentina: Enough depth at key positions, but not as deep as the previous two. 4. Portugal: Extremely good starting 11 plus enough subs in all lines. 5. Brazil: Looks shaky at the back and middle, but they have an insane amount of attackers. 6. England: Another very deep team upfront and in the middle, but questionable CBs and keepers.
#1 Colombia..... with half the stadium cheering for them like in 2014. We will be a broken Goku calling on the spirit Bomb that is James Rodriguez
We have a deep team from 1 through 8, but we don't have dependable replacements for Lucho or James (Quintero is a good sub, but he's not going to give you more than 30 good minutes), and we don't have a proven right wing. Yes, if Lorenzo manages this team well, and James and Lucho stay healthy and near their peak, we can make it to quarterfinals, and even semifinals, but without any of the two, we're just average....
I agree with what you’re saying. The two games I mentioned were the only two “official” games I saw live. I don’t count the New Jersey friendlies. time will tell to see if Nestor learned from his past mistakes - us folks here are more in tune with the details of the past 18 wcq games past set of friendlies than pundits who cover dozens of teams and some of these twitter folks who have good intentions but post “ideal starting 11 lineups” that make little sense… It will be interesting to see what the crowd will be like for the Mexico games. The Miami game will be off the charts.
home field advantage is big. look at Copa América. Even if Colombians don't turn out neutrals will be with us in Mexico vs teams we are playing. 1st game we are not going to have more fans is probably Portugal.... tho in Miami..... that just Goku calling the spirit bomb roster wise GK - below average (Montero, Vargas are not good GKs and Ospina should retire) DF - Average (Lucumi is ok, rest of the guys are fast tall dudes with brain farts that will cost us games... also too timid to do the right thing... fact Lautaro can walk and we didn't win Copa América is what separates Argentina and Colombia.) WBs - Munoz is World Class at attacking and very good at defending because he can track back. Arias is a great back up. LB is a giant hole in our system. Mojica sucks and every option other than him is significantly worst MF - above avg. Rios/Arias/Lerma is a very strong MF attack - I will say WC with Suarez, Diaz and National team James coaching - green but above average team chemistry - if we are winning - godly. bench... this is more who is on the bench and who the coach will bring on. Copa América final he had better options but he picked the worst ones. I mean I am praying Duran gets his shit together and starts scoring left and right and saves us from having Cordoba/Borre/Falcao/Daryo being 2nd choice strikers now Argentina 2022 GK very good, defense terrible, mf decent and just an insane attack... plus refs helping