The coach of the Colombian soccer team, the Argentine Néstor Lorenzo, said this Thursday that Uruguay is a “careful” rival, but indicated that it will try to win this match of the eleventh day of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
“Colombia wants to be a protagonist on all fields. We are not going to go against our nature. “We are going to try to win by playing well,” Lorenzo said at a press conference in Buenos Aires.
The coaching staff chose Buenos Aires as their training base because it is close to Montevideo, where the match will be played this Friday.
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The Colombian team occupies the second place in the playoffs with 19 points, three behind the leader Argentina.
Uruguay, for its part, is fourth with 16 points and has not been able to win in the last four rounds, despite which Lorenzo considers it a dangerous rival.
“He is a careful rival in all his facets, he defends well, attacks well, plays duels well, “You cannot be distracted at any time (…) it is a team with great players who are in the best teams in the world, that makes it a serious rival.”
He also highlighted that coach Marcelo Bielsa has developed a job that allows the Celeste to seek the best results.
Added to this is the dedication of the players when they defend their country’s shirt. “The charrúa spirit is a way of competing for Uruguayans, Argentines, Paraguayans, that is in the DNA, that is not lost, they have not lost it. “They come in need and that makes them a more dangerous team.”
many parties
On the other hand, he said that Colombia, like most teams in the area, are having difficulties because they have injured players or because they have many games ahead of them and their fatigue is already noticeable.
Lorenzo He cannot have Jefferson Lerma or Luis Sinisterra for this game, who are injured. list to which Juan Cabal joined.
“It’s a difficult time, Those who are not injured come with a lot of games, It is the third trip in two months, it is difficult to sustain high physical performance. This happens to all teams,” added the strategist.
In addition to eliminating her from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Colombia fired La Celeste in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Copa América and, in July of this year, won the semifinal against them of the continental tournament held in the United States.
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That tense match that ended with a fight in the stands between Uruguayan players and Colombian fans who had rebuked the footballers’ families.
When asked if this match against Uruguay was a revenge, Lorenzo said that “it’s what the press uses to generate interest, I don’t believe in revenge, like when we played with Argentina it wasn’t revenge, each match is unique and you have to play it the right way.” the best way. Revenge is the motivation generated by the team that wants to return to victory. The Uruguayan does not need that word to go out and give everything, they have always done it.
Fountain: EFE
