The first assessment that can be made of Colombia’s participation in the Women’s World Cup is remarkable, bordering on outstanding.
They met their goal of qualifying for the round of 16, but they did so as the group leader with a historic victory over Germany, who had not lost in the group stage of a World Cup for almost 30 years.
Their defeat against Morocco on Thursday raised some doubts, but that result does not tarnish the performance of a team that has become one of the sensations of the tournament played in Australia and New Zealand.
Their next match will be on Tuesday the 8th against another of the revelations, Jamaica, with the attraction of competing for a place among the eight best teams in the world.
Taking advantage of this pause with the end of the group stage, we analyze what have been the four strengths that Colombia has had during the World Cup.
1. Quality
Linda Caicedo has grabbed the headlines, but each of the players who have taken the field has been key to the excellent performance of the team.
Eleven of the 23 soccer players who are in Australia play for clubs outside of Colombia, with seven of them in the Spanish league.
That touch has given a qualitative leap to the team, which has taken advantage of the evolution experienced by players such as the tireless Mayra Ramírez, Leicy Santos or Caicedo herself, who at 18 years old scored one of the World Cup goals.
“She is a player that is exciting to watch, for me and for all of women’s football”, commented the Spanish footballer Vicky Losada during one of the broadcasts on the British network ITV.
“He has great one-on-one ability and not only inside the box, he also likes to shoot from distance. He never stops moving ”, complemented Emma Hayes, the coach who has guided Chelsea to be the dominant club in English football.
To these is added the solidity in the goal of Catalina Pérez, who saved a penalty against Morocco, the deployment in the midfield of Lorena Bedoya and the captain, Daniela Montoya, and the projections of Carolina Arias and Manuela Vanegas, author of the goal of the victory against Germany.
And we must also mention the serenity of Catalina Usme to take responsibility for the penalty against South Korea with which the World Cup adventure began.
2. Tactics
A crucial factor for Colombia during the group stage has been their tactical discipline, which has given them great defensive solidity led by the central pairing of Jorelyn Carabali and Daniela Arias.
That was evident against Germany, who had just beaten Morocco 6-0, taking advantage of their great passing game.
Colombia raised a match against the Germans with a lot of physical sacrifice, a lot of pressure and betting on relay brands.
“As a coach I am enjoying a lot,” Hayes acknowledged about that game.
“Colombia has been very compact, it is being very difficult to break their lines. It is winning the tactical battle,” he noted.
But Colombia not only defended, they also attacked and created danger, relying on a great game by Ramírez, who constantly moved between the German defenders, held the ball perfectly and always looked for the rival goal.
It was thanks to her that the corner kick was achieved with which Colombia achieved victory at the last minute, which came thanks to another tactical movement prepared from the bench.
With Germany’s zone defense around the six-yard box, Santos sent the ball into the penalty spot where Vanegas headed in all by herself, benefiting from Carabali’s slight legal obstruction on a German player.
The situation changed against Morocco, who used the speed of their players to take advantage of the spaces left by Colombia in their last line.
The difference was that in that game Colombia had more of the ball and had to attack more as a block.
3. Competitiveness
All Colombian soccer is reflected in the passion that the players show when they sing the national anthem before the game.
From that moment until the final whistle of the match, what has been observed on the field of play is a highly competitive team, which does not give up any ball for lost and stands up to any rival, regardless of their history.
“They fought fire with fire and equaled the Germans in terms of intensity,” said Swedish Jonas Eidevall, Arsenal’s coach in English football, after referring to the physical football that characterizes the double world champion.
“They got under their skin, with a very aggressive game but nothing out of the law, really competitive,” he added.
4. Hobby
“And now you see it, and now you see it, we are local again” is what is heard from the stands in every game that Colombia has played, both in Sydney and Perth.
A yellow, blue and red tide that has been essential to overcome the first phase, as recognized by the selection itself.
“Thank all the Colombians who are here supporting us, I know it’s not easy, but I feel that with that support and that encouragement we are 12 on the field,” Caicedo said after the game against South Korea.
“We feel like we are in Colombia,” added Angelo Marsiglia, assistant coach, Nelson Abadía.
“The truth is that the public not only accompanies us here, but at the hotel, at all times and that is more than important to us. We carry Colombia on the field, in the stands and in our hearts, ”she thanked.
An encouragement that will once again be key in the next duel against Jamaica.
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/c3ge6zd3e2qo, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-08-03 19:10:05
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