The biggest room for improvement is fitness. The fact that these women play in a completely disorganized league with little support from anyone doesnt help. The talent is clearly there. You can see the international talent Caicedo, Ramirez and Santos are a step above in poise, strength and know just when to attack or slow the play.
My take on the girls journey: 1. First of all, great performance and you know that they left everything on the field. 4 games, 1 victory, 1 draw, 2 losses (both by just 1 goal). We should be proud of what they have accomplished and hope that they continue to build up in their success. 2. Colombia is still a level below the top teams in the world, US, Canada, France, Spain, even Japan and Germany, not because they're substantially better but because our team is thin and not as physically gifted. We need more work at the formation stages so our players are better built and we have more available. 3. When Colombia has the ball, they are very good and dangerous; the problem is that they seldom had it, and that they lost it quickly half of the time. That forces them to run and run and run after the ball, and with a thin bench, after 3 games of running and running, that led to 5 or 6 injured players. The coach needs to be smarter about managing minutes and figure out how to get a stronger bench. On a side note, that red card on the first game probably messed up with the plans, since it carried a two-game suspension, which was excessive IMHO. 4. Is it too much to ask from Jesurun's replacement to strengthen the feminine league and to give more incentive to the national team, now that they're building a name at the international level?
On #4. This is not "new" success. The WNT has been performing at a high level for at least 20 years. Next to Brazil, we are the best with teams like Chile + Argentina 1 tier below. Look at the last Copa Americas, Last WCs, Olympics, Youth tourneys, Copa Libertadores and you'll see that this is decades of work and they have VERY LITTLE to no support across all levels (DiMayor, FCF. Government, Sponsors).... When you compete against Spain, these women play all year long, compete on Champions and other tournaments and are able to stake out a career playing as a professional. I don't think we have the resources or will to compete at that level with Europe but there definitely has to be something to even make small improvements to make the local tournament better, to help improve their development and to make a living playing the game they love.
I did not say "new success", I said "building a name". Besides, the first time that the girls qualified for a WC was in 2011, and their first win in the tournament came in 2015, so I don't think that they have been at that high level for 20 years (possibly 10, 15 max). Also, being a "powerhouse" in South America does not make us a first-tier team at the world level. The rest of it, I agree. On the bright side, several team members play abroad against the women they faced in the tournament, but where we lack is depth and that's where getting a better league would help. From what I've heard, there was some interest, and even some sponsors, to expand and make the league a more formal competition, but it was blocked by Dimayor and the fed. That's where I hope that getting rid of "crooked Ramon" can open a window of opportunity.
WNT has had a top 4 finish in Copa America dating back 20 years. Agreed that it's all relative as south america isn't really a powerhouse for women's futbol. Brazil has come the closest to reaching a consistent next level. Similar to club level we've had solid outcomes in CL (remember this dates back to days of not even having a professional women's league). But yes, to your point, this is just in Conmebol. Colombian men's clubs are mostly broke so it's too much to ask more from them in sponsoring a women league but they should have to contribute a share. I still think instead of a league of 15 teams, they should just make it 8 or so and focus on strengthening that league competition. Have the women play after or before men's matches and have FCF appropriate 10% of their income toward the league. I mean how much did the FCF collect for Copa America? Then find other ways to improve sponsorship.
Two tough wins and the girls are through. The referee let Cameroun play too rough but you can't deny that they have talent and a good goalkeeper, but at the end the local team prevailed and could have been by a bigger margin.
🥹⚽🙏🏼 Ante más de 30.600 aficionados acompañando a la Selección Colombia Femenina Sub20 en El Campín, se exhibió este mensaje en el estadio: ¡LIGA FEMENINA DIGNA YA! Gracias a los resultados alcanzados, HOY miles de voces se unen al balompié femenino.📸 @josegacel pic.twitter.com/AJaiqW07qy— Fémina Football 🌏 (@feminafootball) September 4, 2024
Girls win their final group match against Mexico. Currently on a perfect flawless streak with no goals given up and each match won.
Nah, it wasn’t that bad. Not the best game but they were qualified already so the intensity wasn’t there. Hopefully they get an accessible rival in the next round before they have to face the real powerhouses.
#Histórico I Al partido Colombia -México en Medellín ingresaron 35.847 hinchas. Es la mayor cantidad de aficionados en la historia del fútbol femenino del país y la mayor asistencia en toda la historia de los mundiales femeninos categoría sub-20, reportó Federico Gutiérrez. pic.twitter.com/eBPm7E12FR— Caracol Radio Medellín (@CaracolMedellin) September 7, 2024