Néstor Lorenzo beat Gustavo Alfaro in the duel of Argentine coaches that took place this Friday at the University of Phoenix stadium. Lorenzo’s Colombia was the leader of the group after beating Paraguay 2 to 1 on the first date, Alfaro’s Costa Rica had just rescued a valuable point after drawing goalless against a pale Brazilian team. It was the opportunity for both teams to validate what they had done previously and put their qualification on track for the quarterfinals of the Copa América. A 3 -0 leaves no doubt about what happened.
3
The following players were selected: Camilo Vargas, Davinson Sanchez, Johan Mojica, Daniel Munoz, Carlos Cuesta, Jefferson Lerma (Kevin Castano, min. 71), Jhon Arias, Richard Rios (Mateus Uribe, min. 45), Luis Diaz (Rafael Borre, min. 76), James Rodriguez (Yaser Asprilla, min. 71) and Jhon Cordoba (Jhon Duran, min. 76)
0
Patrick Sequeira, Juan Pablo Vargas, Francisco Calvo, Jeyland Mitchell, Ariel Lassiter (Joseph Mora, min. 45), Orlando Galo, Haxzel Quiros, Brandon Aguilera (Jefferson Brenes, min. 65), Manfred Ugalde (Joel Campbell, min. 45), Alvaro Zamora (Josimar Alcocer, min. 65) and Warren Madrigal (Andy Rojas, min. 82)
Goals
1-0 min. 30: Luis Diaz. 2-0 min. 58: Davinson Sanchez. 3-0 min. 61: Cordoba
Referee Gustavo Tejera
Yellow cards
Manfred Ugalde (min. 16), Richard Rios (min. 40), Cordoba (min. 63)
In the initial plan, Lorenzo and Alfaro tried to replicate the formations from four days earlier. In Colombia, Jhon Córdoba entered the starting lineup for Rafael Santos Borré as the only striker and Carlos Cuesta replaced the injured Jhon Lucumí, who left the match against Paraguay with discomfort, in the central pairing. For its part, Costa Rica replaced only one of its players. Warren Madrigal entered to occupy Jefferson Brenes’ place in the middle of the field. In the rest, from the board it was projected that the coffee growers would bet on possession and the wings, with their wide wings, while the Central Americans would protect themselves in defense with three fixed defenders.
It was enough for Uruguayan referee Gustavo Tejera to blow the whistle for Colombia to take the lead. The Costa Rican midfield held out for ten minutes, allowing only a deflected header from Luis Díaz after a cross from Richard Ríos. As Lorenzo’s men settled in and circulated the ball, the Costa Ricans’ display waned, losing momentum. At 20 minutes, it was James Rodríguez, taking advantage of a pass from Díaz after a memorable move to break free, who almost opened the scoring with his left foot. Goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira prevented the goal.
But just seven minutes later, Sequeira would be responsible for his team conceding a goal. Colombian winger Daniel Muñoz, who scored the first goal against Paraguay, sent a long pass in search of striker Jhon Córdoba. In a quick play but far from the goal, in which the striker was fighting for possession with rival captain Francisco Calvo, Sequeira rushed to the edge of his area and unnecessarily attacked the coffee striker. Díaz took over the charge and billed, kicking to his right, the opposite side chosen by Sequeira.
The end of the first half resulted in two opportunities to increase the difference, but Davinson Sánchez failed on both occasions. At 33, after a corner kick, he caught a rebound with his right leg and sent it to the stands; At 36 he was unable to connect with a pass from Díaz despite having the goal at his disposal because Sequeira had been surpassed. However, in the second half he had his revenge.
Alfaro tried to give greater volume to his eleventh team’s attack and sent Joseph Mora and Joel Campbell onto the field, one of the survivors of that mythical Costa Rica that reached the quarterfinals in Brazil 2014, to take the place of Manfred Ugalde and Ariel Lassiter . The order to go in search of a tie was taken advantage of by the coffee growers, who quickly took advantage of the spaces. After roaming the three-quarters of the Ticos court, Sánchez shook off the thorn from minutes ago and scored with an accurate header. Sequeira was left with no chance, watching the ball inflate the net.
The rest of the match was a lesson. Colombia did not let its rival get close to the goal defended by Camilo Vargas, who was just another spectator. For the third goal, Davinson Sánchez again scored, in a ride that saw him start from his own area and reach the half defended by the Ticos. He gave the ball to James Rodríguez, who used his right leg, the less skilled one, to set up Córdoba. The play was sealed with a cross shot from the Russian Krasnodar striker. The celebration was outrageous, taking off his shirt and shouting at the top of his lungs.
The advantage gave Lorenzo the opportunity to introduce John Jader Durán, Mateus Uribe, Kevin Castaño, Rafael Santos Borré and Yaser Asprilla. The latter was very close to scoring the fourth goal, but his shot went a few centimeters from Sequeira’s right post.
On July 2, Colombia will be able to confirm its good level against the five-time world champion, Brazil. Costa Rica will look for a victory against Paraguay to seek the place reserved for second in the group. The coffee growers continue with their undefeated record of 22 games, very close to the record of 27 obtained by the team led by Francisco Maturana in the 1990s.
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