On the 11th of South American Qualifiers, Uruguay defeated Colombia by 3 to 2 in local conditions. It was by far one of the best matches that have been played so far in the qualifiers of the Conmebol to the 2026 World Cup to be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Once the victory was achieved, Bielsa shared these feelings: “Triumphs like today’s are healing. In the sense that they bring all the parties that are around a feeling as strong as that of Uruguay very close.. It was a very exciting match, the determination that the players put into ensuring that the victory was preserved was very evident.”
He also added the following: “It seemed impossible after a tie with so little left that it would unbalance again. an immense joy and as I said before it was a much-needed triumph. For us it was essential to win again and beyond the way it happened it was very exciting. It was a much-needed victory. I didn’t imagine the game like that because I always imagine them handling the ball and recovering it quickly.”.
While he closed with these words: “It was very difficult for us to prevent Colombia from having long possessions. They are a team that has a very well-oiled and accomplished way of playing, that defends, presses, handles the ball and has imbalance. All these things make him a very difficult rival to beat. We prepared the game so that their center backs didn’t have the ball and they were the ones who had it the most.”.
Bielsa’s record
Bielsa achieved a tremendous record against Colombia: He became the coach with the most wins in the history of the South American Qualifiers. El Loco has no more and no less than 32 victories, surpassing Oscar Washington Tabárez.
Reviewing the qualifying table, Argentina currently occupies 1st position with 22 points through seven wins, one draw and three losses.. Uruguay and Colombia are their escorts with 19. While Brazil is further behind with 17. This is what the rest of the table looks like: Ecuador (16), Paraguay (16), Venezuela (12), Bolivia (12), Peru (7 ) and Chile (6).
It is important to remember that the six best will directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the US, Mexico and Canada.. While the team that finishes in 7th position will compete in a repechage. Until now that place belongs to Venezuela.