The Colombian player of Rayo Vallecano James Rodríguez arrived this Monday in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba to join the training that the coffee team began over the weekend at 2,558 meters of altitude, ahead of Thursday’s game against Bolivia for the South American qualifiers of the World Cup 2026.
Along with Rodríguez, the last to join the Colombian concentration were the two left backs Cristian Alexis Borja and Johan Mojica,
The first practice of the Colombian National Team was on Sunday at the Félix Capriles stadium under the direction of coach Néstor Lorenzo who was in charge of eight players. In the afternoon six other footballers arrived and joined the training.
With the arrival of James, Borja and Mojica there are 17 selected players who have already completed practices and it is expected that in the following hours the last 12 players of the Colombian National Team will arrive.
The presence of Colombia in the city of Cochabamba, located 2,500 meters above sea level, is due to the need for soccer players to acclimatize to play at altitude, since Thursday’s match will be played at the Villa Ingenio stadium in the city of El Alto located at 4.09 meters above sea level.
The tricolor team will present an undefeated record against Bolivia in the South American qualifiers since March 24, 2022, which began when they beat this same rival 3-0 in Barranquilla.
Those led by Lorenzo occupy the second place in the tie with 16 points after 8 days and come from beating Argentina 2-1, world and Copa América champions.
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Bolivians and Colombians faced each other seven times in Bolivia, the Verde won one match and the coffee growers two, while the rest were draws.
