It was nice while it lasted: the Colombian National Team debuted with victory, overcame obstacles, had the luxury of hugging for the first time in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Now, starting from scratch, comes the bogeyman, the iceberg, the title contender, the fearsome team from Germany.
Do not be too confident: it is the European runner-up, it has several of the best players in the world, it opened with six goals against Morocco, it qualified for this World Cup with 27 points in 10 games and a goal difference of 47 to 5 .
Germany has the top scorer Alexandra Popp (2 goals in a single game) and wants to sign this Sunday (4:30 am from Colombia) their qualification to the round of 16 without thinking so much about who stands in front.
Alexandra Popp (Germany 🇩🇪) scored the third brace of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in a 6-0 win over debutants Morocco 🇲🇦.
📞 Popp reached 64 scores with the national team, being the third historic scorer.#BeyondGreatness pic.twitter.com/XiWqI0ZAfr
— Juan Camilo Vargas (@JuanCaVargas13) July 24, 2023
Hard? Very hard! That is why the last thing Colombia can do is exceed the confidence they gained with the 2-0 defeat against Korea. And here is the dilemma: “putting your face” from the whistle can end in a KO like the one suffered by Morocco, but hiding will, in the best of cases, lengthen the sentence and expose yourself to unproductive physical and mental exhaustion in the vain task of recovery, exactly the ideal environment that the Germans are looking for to hit.
“Popp is good at aerial ball, you have to reference her. It’s going to be a very difficult match, very physical, let’s wait and see how far the tank can hold up for everyone”, said Mayra Ramírez, the Colombian striker.
That is why for Colombia it will be necessary to implement a true lock plan in Sydney. It will be necessary to establish a perimeter between the Teutonic defense and their midfield so that the departure of the wingers Huth and Rauch never ends -or almost never- in the collection of a still ball, so that neither Daebritz and Leupolz connect with the attacking three ( Brand, Magull and Bühl) and in this way Popp ‘die of boredom’, colliding with the national defenders.
As? Tweaking the defense. TOBadía would use four centrals to contain the attack: Daniela Arias would go to the right side, the centrals would be Jorelyn Carabalí and Manuela Vanegas (in their natural position).
They open space for Daniela Caracas on the left side. Five defenders are not even ruled out, with Caracas, Manuela and Arias in a module of three fullbacks. As? Sacrificing talent for one more brick to the wall: Leicy Santos gave way to Marcela Restrepo. More size and shock.
Caracas is 1.67 meters tall and weighs 58 kilos. She would go for Carolina Arias (1.62 meters and 51 kilos): more physical presence and height for the aerial game.
I wish Germany had only turned up in the final. But it is on the agenda of group H. It is irremediable. There are no small or big rivals in a World Cup, there are seven games, seven finals and a Colombia hungry for triumph and glory. Is there fear? No. Colombia has respect and desire to win.
Jenny Gamez
Special envoy of EL TIEMPO and Futbolred
Sydney (Australia)
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