Two games played, two lost, zero goals for, five against and the feeling of insecurity that came from the preparation games. This is how it ended, even if there are still two games on the calendar, the participation of the Colombian U-23 National Team, which will have to watch the Paris 2024 Olympics on television.
After Ecuador's 3-0 win on the first day, on Friday Héctor Cárdenas' team lost 2-0 against Brazil and, mathematically, it has nothing to do: it can equal the points with the scratch, but the defeat in the duel direct elimination sentence.
The reactions of the National Team range from tears to resignation.
“This is a horrible feeling. We played the best we could, we gave our best and in the end it wasn't possible. It's a bitter feeling. “Excuse us, forgive us and let's move on,” midfielder Juan Andrés Castilla said, crying.
Cárdenas, for his part, hinted that he will continue in office. “For us, the balance of being left out of the competition is negative, but this team will compete until the last. We will defend our country's shirt, to return to Colombia and continue the work,” he declared.
The chain of errors that led to the elimination of Paris 2024
The truth is that this path to elimination started badly. The Colombian Football Federation took a while to choose the person in charge of the team. Héctor Cárdenas was appointed in June, once his participation in the U-20 World Cup in Argentina ended.
When it was believed that the coach was going to use that team as a base, he decided to expand the bouquet. It should be remembered that this generation of 2001 and 2002 category players did not have a youth South American due to the pandemic.
Cárdenas had already failed at the Pan American Games in Santiago in October: They beat Honduras 2-0 and lost to Brazil and the United States by the same score. Then, in the game for fifth place, they lost in a tiebreaker from the white point against Uruguay.
The friendlies, except the last one against the Dominican Republic in Barranquilla, exposed defensive and offensive failures that were repeated in the Pre-Olympic. And also, In preparation, an incredible event occurred: when he was going to play two games against Peru, the Senior National Team took several players for the December duels against Mexico and Venezuela. One of them, Daniel Ruiz, was called up to the U-23 team and was dismissed.
It's not all Cárdenas' fault, of course. There were players who were of age and were not loaned, like Jhon Durán and Yaser Asprilla. And several of those summoned did not have a good level. Many of the criticisms point to Daniel Ruiz, who could not show a level similar to that of Milllonarios. But there were several during low hours.
Everything came together for Colombia to suffer its seventh elimination in the last eight Olympics. The only qualification was for Rio 2016. And now we will have to think about Los Angeles 2028. By age, the base will be the next U-20. You have to work well and from now on.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
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