Colombia vs. Guatemala: International Friendly Preview

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 1, 2013

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On Wednesday night, the Colombian National Team will play its first game of 2013 in an international friendly against Guatemala in Miami, Florida.

Preparing for the Central American Nations Cup, Guatemala is fielding a team comprised of all domestic players that lack the experience the Colombians bring to the table. Recent results include back-to-back 3-1 losses to Paraguay and the United States.

On paper, this matchup does not attract the same sexiness that the Brazil-Colombia friendly attracted back in November, but the match will be beneficial for players who have not played as much recently due to the injuries James Rodriguez (FC Porto) and Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) recently sustained.

 

Goalkeeper

David Ospina (Nice) will get the nod once again to lead the defense. Outside of a major injury, Ospina will continue to remain the No. 1 goalkeeper for Colombia. Surprisingly, the only other keeper called up for the friendly was the ageless Faryd Mondragon (Deportivo Cali). The 41-year-old Colombian legend will serve a great mentor to the 24-year-old Ospina. Would a call-up to some of Colombia’s younger keepers have made some sense given the circumstances of this match?

 

Defense

Once again Jose Pekerman continues to stick with his core defensive unit of Juan Zuniga and Pablo Armero (Napoli) as his full-backs and center-backs Mario Yepes, Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Carlos Valdes (Santa Fe), Aquivaldo Mosquera (America) and Luis Perea (Cruz Azul).

Expect to see both Zuniga and the speedy Armero on the flanks where Colombia’s attack will begin. Zuniga has become Colombia’s equivalent to Dani Alves—playmaking from the backline and moving the ball up the pitch faster than the average defender—while Armero brings pace and a strong left foot on the other side of the pitch. If Armero were to develop his right foot and bette...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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