The technician’s idea of the representative of the highlands, Oscar Villegasis now his rival. However, if Lorenzo’s approach works, the one who runs out of air could be the local team and it will be of no use to him. having spied on the practices of the representative country.
The team led by Villegas is in eighth place in the standings with nine pointslike Paraguay, fighting for the same box that grants a ticket for the play-off against a team from another confederation.
Colombia is second in the table with 16 points -two less than the leader Argentina- with direct ticket to the World Cup in North America-2026 and the only undefeated team in the South American region.
In Bolivia, dreams of qualifying for the next 2026 World Cup have been reborn, after more than 30 years since their historic landing in the United States in 1994.
Their last two victories in the current phase (4-0 win over Venezuela at home and a historic 2-1 victory against Chile in Santiago) once again gave him World Cup chances.
But in front they have a tough Colombian team, which they have not beaten at home for 21 years in the phase premundialist In September 2003 they beat them 4-0 and since then they have had two defeats and two draws.
Bolivia wants to change history and has looked at the Villa Ingenio stadium in the city of El Alto, at 4,150 meters above sea level, as the great ally to beat Colombia.
Without the goalkeeper Carlos Lampe and offensive midfielder Henry Vaca, both injured, coach Villegas intends to reissue the eleven that gave him excellent results against Venezuelans and Chileans.
His midfielder Ramiro Vaca, author of a goal against Vinotintopointed out that the Bolivian team will seek to take advantage of the home field.
“We know that they are going to wait in the low block and hope to come out of ‘against’ (counterattack), we know that it is always complicated, but we have to be patient to generate goal situations,” said Vaca, a key player.
The least
Colombia lands at the Villa Ingenio stadium with its scrolls ahead: second in the standings, recent runners-up in the Copa América and with a last 2-1 home victory against the world champion Argentina.
Since Friday, those led by Lorenzo train in Cochabamba at 2,558 meters high.
Lorenzo pointed out at a press conference in Cochabamba that measures are being taken to appease the effects of altitude.
“It is a game with special circumstances, the physical part is important (…) in terms of the flight of the ball, the lightness that exists at that height that flies faster,” said the coach.
He added that ““It’s not easy” and that work is being done “to mitigate the effects” of height.
Lorenzo took the opportunity to report the discovery of a man who was allegedly spying on the visiting team’s concentration.
“It is unfortunate that they send you to spy (…) We identify him, we have photos and we report the case where appropriate,” he said.
The visiting team’s training sessions in Cochabamba were not immune to controversy. Bolivian coach Villegas said that this city will not help the Colombians “to acclimatize,” due to the difference there is with El Alto.
The match is scheduled for 3:00 pm and will be directed by the Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio.
To do?
There is a lot of talk about how to approach the game to counteract the effects of altitude, but there is no magic formula.
Lorenzo must have studied his rival very well and especially what he did against Venezuela and Chile.
The national coach has the advantage of having players who act at altitude or train at it, as is the case of goalkeeper Camilo Vargas or full-back Andrés Román, called up at the last minute and who could be the surprise in the starting lineup.
There is also the possibility that James Rodríguez will not be a first baseman to save him for the second half.
Otherwise, No major changes are expected in the starting lineup, with Vargas, Román, Dávinson Sánchez, Jhon Lucumí and Johan Mojica in defense; Jefferson Lerma, Richard Ríos, Jhon Arias, Jorge Carrascal, Luis Díaz and Jhon Córdoba.
Colombia has arguments to seek to take control of the ball, put it into circulation and force Bolivia to wear down, fall into its own trap and end up short of breath.
The only thing that the national representative cannot fall into is playing the ball long so that Díaz or Córdoba can run because with just one hit they will be destroyed.