Colombia vs. Uruguay: Marcelo Bielsa plays a mystery with the starting lineup, the trap to stop Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez

With a defense weakened by the absence of Ronald Araujo and Nahitan Nandez, but with the firepower of Darwin Núñez, Uruguay faces today the inspired Colombia selection in the semifinals of the 2024 Copa America in the United States.

Uruguay, fifteen times champion of the America Cup, At the top of the list of achievements with Argentina, they hope to maintain the defensive solidity that has led them to concede just one goal in this edition of the tournament at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Uruguay, with a weakened defense

Your security around the goalkeeper’s premises Sergio Rochet She was put to a demanding test in the quarterfinals with the injury that took her out of the game Araújo and the expulsion of Nández, in their 4-2 victory in a penalty shootout against Brazil, in Las Vegas, after a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes.

The Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa now plays the mystery after confirming yesterday, in a press conference, that the central of Barcelona He was unable to recover for the match before the final. “We will not be able to count on Araújo… I have not yet decided on a substitute for Nández,” the coach analysed in a press conference.

The Uruguayan coach demonstrated his experience and knows that he must not give his opponent any clues. Bielsa He wants to throw Colombia off the scent in order to set up a defence that could be made up of a line of 3 and he would consider making several tactical changes to the team.

Uruguay, with the charrúa claw

Marcelo Bielsa could kick the board and revolutionize his tactical drawing. He would go out on the field with a 3-4-3, a change in the scheme to stop talented players like James Rodriguez and Luis Diaz.

The clearest change is the entry of Jose Maria Gimenez by the injured AraújoThe unknown factor is in defence. Press reports speak of an unexpected move, the Atlético de Madrid player would be accompanied by Sebastián Cáceres and Mathías Olivera to form that strong line of three.

Federico Valverde He would move from midfield to the right flank (a position he occupied during the emergency at Real Madrid) and play as a wing-back. Guillermo Varela, the natural full-back on that side, would not be included in the plans due to Nández’s suspension.

The exit of Valverde from the midfield would force us to put another midfielder and the chosen one would be Rodrigo Bentancur, a more defensive player who provides balance and covers the defense more in the open field. On the left lane would be Nicholas of the Cross, who does not have defensive characteristics, but can fulfill the role with his opposite foot.

The Argentine’s idea would be to send a more physical team on the field, one that fights and wins all the duels, and that imposes limits on the magic of players like James Rodríguez or Luis Díaz, the lethal weapons of the Colombians. The friction game that he showed against Brazil would be repeated.

“We prefer to take the ball away in a less frictional way, but we had to use friction,” he said.

Bielsa pulls the changed one?

The drawing could change and be just a trap for the Colombia selection. On paper, Bielsa would line up with three in defence, but on the pitch with four at the back. Valverde would be the right-back, José María Giménez and Sebastián Cáceres in central defence, and Mathías Olivera at left-back. The latter plays for his team, Napoli, in that position which is more familiar to him than centre-back.

“I’m more interested in attacking than defending, but I also have to appreciate that in a tight match we created more than our opponent and that we defended well (…). We played 15 minutes with one less player and, at this level, it’s very noticeable,” added the Argentine.

Bielsa preferred to be somewhat careful with Colombia and knows that it will be a difficult obstacle to overcome. “They are a strong rival, with a run of positive results and there is also knowledge between the team and the coach. Colombia is a very demanding competition.”

With the already named BentancurIt would Manuel Ugarte at his side. At the same time there is full confidence in the potential of his attack, led by Nunezwho is living his best moment with the sky blue shirt under the orders of the Argentine.

The Liverpool striker has two goals in this competition, in which he was cut short. However, he has a historic streak of seven consecutive matches scoring for Uruguay, with ten goals in that period. He equalled an old record held by the legendary Héctor Scarone –two-time Olympic champion and world champion–, who also scored in seven consecutive matches for the Uruguayan national team between 1927 and 1928.

Núñez will be with Maximiliano Núñez on the left side and Facundo Pellistri on the right.

Possible formation of Uruguay

Sergio Rochet: Jose Maria Gimenez, Sebastian Caceres, Mathias Olivera; Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Ugarte, Nicholas de la Cruz: Maximilian Araujo, Facundo Pellistri and Darwin Nunez.

HAROLD YEPES

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