Colombia, Colombia, Colombia… The country is shouting with fervor, because the Women’s Team inspires, excites. It may be that sometimes it gets tangled up or its game doesn’t flow, but this team always has a hidden weapon. Now it beat Mexico 1-0 in Medellin, with a goal from Mary Alvarezwho came from defense to take on the role of forward, and that was enough to win, qualify first in Group A and go to Cali to play the round of 16 of the U-20 World Cup.
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It was a game of imprecision, a game in which nothing worked, two touches and the ball was given away, without a good idea, without a stroke of genius. Colombia seemed like a different team at the start. Was it the comfort of qualifying earlier or was it because the place in the round of 16 was already assured? The Paisa fans who came to the Atanasio Girardot were waiting for that drop of light, that shine that this team has in store. But the minutes passed and the game did not excite anyone.
Mexico stood up well. And it was a Mexican who gave the first scare, Paola Garcia, with a header that sent the ball into the post, too close, while the goalkeeper Luisa Delgado I watched his slow walk towards that post, and breathed as he walked outside.
Colombia was a disconnection. Linda Caicedo The team was without spark, and if it goes out, the whole team will be rationed. Gabriela Rodriguez came and went looking for the necessary pause, to contribute her ideas, a good pass, but she didn’t appear, the ball didn’t reach her. Yésica Muñoz, who won the starting position after her goal against Cameroon, was fighting a lonely battle, glued to her right line, unable to get out of there. Neither the aerial game nor the low game worked. But the public waited, cheering, chanting, eagerly awaiting the moment of joy.
With Colombia you never know. This team is full of secret weapons. If the game doesn’t flow, they’ll invent something, something they’ve worked on. That’s when a corner kick came. Natalia Hernandez took it to the near post, the toughest battles were taking place in the area, but the Mexicans, perhaps looking for Linda or Yésica, forgot about Mari Álvarez, the center back, who arrived in rival territory stealthily, without being noticed, as if walking on tiptoe, looked at Natalia, they understood each other in an eye conversation, she saw the ball in free fall, short, as if harmless, but it was a ball with poison, Mari went to meet her, she launched herself, made an acrobatic movement subtle enough for the ball to change course and go towards the goal, without resistance, and it came to rest in the net at the same time that the Atanasio Girardot felt alive with the shout of goal that they had waited for for 38 minutes.
Colombia took a weight off its shoulders, because although a draw would have been good for it, it wanted another victory and to get out of the mess it was in in the match. Then came a moment of tension, of alarm, when Mexico went in search of the equalizer and in an aerial ball, goalkeeper Luisa Delgado collided with her elbow with defender Yunaira López, who was left lying on the grass and then left in an ambulance. The first half ended and the National Team was left with that double feeling, the victory and the anguish for the defender.
In the second half, Colombia came out with a different rhythm, more determined to impose its conditions. And Mexico was already giving them space. In one of those moments, the player Maithe López, who came on for Yunaira, was brought down in the area. Penalty. Opportunity to secure the match. Linda Caicedo stood in front of the ball, the crowd was shouting “Linda, Linda, Linda…”. But Linda tried to position the ball too much and it went wide. “Linda, Linda, Linda” continued to ring out in the stands so that the star would not fade. The problem was that Mexico went on the attack and almost tied the game when Alice Soto made the goal tremble with a shot off the post.
Mexico fought, tried, but couldn’t find the equalizer, and Colombia, with its lethal game and with Mary Álvarez as the protagonist, won again. It will play the round of 16 in Cali against one of the best third-place teams. Colombia is growing, exciting and dreaming in the Women’s World Cup.
PAUL ROMERO
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@PabloRomeroET
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