Copa America: Colombian fans anxious before game against Peru
Bogota, June 15 (IANS) The Colombian people are anxiously awaiting the game against Peru in the 2016 Centennial Copa America quarter-finals to be held on Friday, international media reported.
According to Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, Colombian people are anxious ahead of the match and most of them think the national team will win despite Colombia’s poor performance in the last first-round game against Costa Rica, reports Xinhua news agency.
Colombia were defeated 2-3 by Costa Rica, but the Colombian fans forgive coach Nestor Pekerman, who said only he was responsible for the loss.
Local experts said Pekerman underestimated the Costa Rican team, especially after winning the first two games against the United States (2-0) and Paraguay (2-1).
The match against Costa Rica was mostly played by substitute players and showed a disordered team, different from the synchronised team that dominated the previous matches.
In the 2015 edition of Copa America, Colombia and Peru played a poor 0-0 draw, while in the 2011 edition, the Peruvian squad defeated Colombia 2-0.
The Colombian players who are still part of the national team include Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Carlos Sanchez and Dayro Moreno.
The Peruvian players who still remain in the national team since those games are Alberto Rodriguez, Christian Ramos, Renzo Revoredo, Yoshimar Yotun, Paolo Guerrero and Raul Ruidiaz.