We have to start including Yaser as we don’t know how long we can count on James due to age, injuries, and his endless drama at the club level but he should still be called and play while he proves that he is the best for that role and until he does not produce anymore to stop calling up the dude who has been our best player due to club issues is nonsensical; especially when he has proven time and time again that club form doesn’t make a difference to him at the NT
Borre we have better options James we don’t have a proven better option…. Yaser/Quintero/annoying kid in Russia with a neck tattoo/Sinnisteria at full super Saiyan god mode with 100% stamina and a bag full of Sensu beans is not 1/5th the player James in a wheel chair is
I would love if Yaser was 1/2 the player James was when he was 17. Right now and got minutes and instantly made an impact….. no one would be happier than me Sinisteria who is closer to getting James minutes is injured and is a lot Like Muriel. Quintero is a worse Gio Hernandez or Macnelly Torres that half of you hype up and forget he is at end of career and only decided to try for 6-12 months in 12 year career Carrascal is another Millos over rated bogota propaganda player who isn’t very good. Not complete shit like that Ruiz kid but still not one I bench a James in a wheel chair for. if we don’t play James play a different formation. It only works with him. go to a 2 striker system
im still waiting for James to retire so we can move on already, probably going to have to deal with him until the next WC at the very least
Weren't you the one saying James should never be called again less than 6 months ago? Look at my sig. That was one of many instances.
I watched some of Colombia's games in WCQ the other day. Here my thoughts: I think Colombia have recovered and bounced back from the disappointing 2022 cycle. I see now a better coached team. Everybody knows exactly what he's got to do on the pitch. For my money Colombia's main strength under Lorenzo is their excllent midfield press. It's very well corrdinated and well executed. The opposition isn't given any space and time to build up comfortably. Colombia win many balls back in midfield. They are very dangerous in transition. Once they regain possession they are very direct and look for Luis Dias and Jon Arias on the wings to penetrate. In general wing play is major element in Colombia's play. Especially Munoz contributes a lot to Colombia's attack with his runs and crosses / lay offs. James may be not in his prime anymore but he's still a very instrumental player as he can keep the ball, slow down the tempo or set up plays with his vision. Borre up top hasn't been the best solution but at least he roams a lot and is also involved in the press. Everybody looks committed and you can feel that Colombia have been on a redemption arc. The defenders throw themselves into every shot etc... Once the opposition manages to get over the press Colombian players are quick to track back and prevent the opposition from earning very dangerous looks on Colombia's goal. Colombia's high defensive prowess gets highlighted in stats as well. 3 goals conceded after 6 games is impressive. Colombia's defence was preached only courtesy s header off a corner, a penalty that was caused because Colombian players had switched off for a moment and a brilliant Brazilian interplay in a tight space. The single major weakness I spotted is that Colombian defenders are error prone when they get pressed. Also there's not a whole lot creativity coming from the center of the park. Overall Colombia are on the right path. They could have picked up more points. They could have played better away at Chile. Uruguay at home and Ecuador away they could have beaten these teams. Especially Uruguay. In my next top 150 ranking which I'll publish later this month I'll have Colombia ranked 4th in CONMEBOL and 12th in the world. Furthermore Colombia are for me a dark horse for Copa America. Colombia have the capacity to reach the final if they play at their best level.
Solid analysis. The emergence of Castaño and introduction of Arias and increasingly Sinisterra have really helped in the final matches. We have to hope for health.
Speaking of Castaño and the DFM, I have to say since Uribe has not played a club match since December I am hoping that forces Lorenzo to just focus on Lerma, Castaño, Rios and either bring in Solis from Girona or Portilla from Talleres to test them out.
Both Mosquera the two young CBs in Spain started for Valencia vs real and Villarreal v Granada hope we can cup tie the Spanish one.
I don't know how I missed this complete nonsense earlier. Quintero is like Hernández or Macnelly if they had... a) scored big goals at multiple World Cups and played impressive at highest level b) won a Super classico Copa Libertadores final with a wonder goal c) had a successful career in Argentina d) got a major pay day early in their career with low engagement required so they could pursue their hobbies in their spare time and still be set up for life.... So yeah, they have a lot in common.
Yup. A 19 year old as an undisputed starter for Valencia playing in one of the best leagues in the world weekly for the season. Seems like an obvious call... ...assuming his paperwork is done. That was the obvious obstacle for him not playing for us in the Sub 20 friendlies. We do not want a Bolivia or Ecuador situation where we get deducted points.
Rumor has it Portilla may be called up from Talleres for the friendlies. (At least being reported as a bloqueado by his club team.) That said, we have seen many instances of bloqueados that did not get called up to the real roster so we shall see how it plays out. In Brasil they are saying Rios and James will be called.
As for rumors of players not being called, Machado has been injured for a while and will probably not be called. Uribe is also rumored to not be on the roster, which would make a lot of sense due to no minutes since December and knowing about the Portilla rumor. LB has me a bit concerned again. Maybe this gives an opportunity to Cabal who has been starting a lot in Italy the last month or so.
Going back to Cristhian Mosquera... ....it is being reported that Spain will call him up for the U21 matches at the end of this month. (One a friendly the other a Euro U21 qualifier.) Let's see if he decides to play for them or if Lorenzo convinces him to play for us. We don't know what is running in the head of Mosquera at the moment and we do not even know how Lorenzo rates him so this situation is going to be very interesting the next few weeks.
Siniterra hasn't been getting minutes lately, my gut feeling he is going to be snubbed with the national team for now.
He started and played FA cup the other day but yes, he has not been getting as many minutes as he should in the PL. Not sure who Lorenzo would call instead of him though. Maybe Poveda?