There is Qatar, between Colombia and the quarterfinals

2019-06-18

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With the skin still bristling after beating Lionel Messi and his side, Colombia will look to advance to the quarter-finals of CONMEBOL Copa America against the combative Qatar on Wednesday.

The first-ever clash between Colombians and Qatar will take place at the Morumbi Stadium in the Brazilian city of São Paulo from 18:30 local time (21:30 GMT).

– Ia proud team –

Colombia arrived to São Paulo on Monday with their chest inflated by the resounding 2-0 win over Argentina in the Group B opener in Salvador.

The win over the Albiceleste broke a two-decade unbeaten streak in the Copa America and a 12-year unbeaten streak in any competition.

‘Los  Cafeteros’ warned Brazil and Uruguay of their intention to join the group of favorites.

Although their triumph was celebrated in style, the Colombians dodged the overflowing optimism, surely learning from past experiences in which they delighted with their game but came out earlier than expected.

The expression most used by Carlos Queiroz’s men is «step by step». The mantra aims to keep them awake with two final matches to go on the road to the title that will be delivered in Rio de Janeiro.

– Qatar’s Tiqui taca –

If anyone believed that Qatar could be a mere group phase procedure, Felix Sanchez’s Scarlet army made it clear that, if they let them, they are ready to conquer South America.

Paraguay have already felt the strength of their attacking power. Now it will be the Colombian team, with one of the continent’s best defenders (just two goals in five games) who will have to stop the attack.

«We’re capable of adapting to environments where we can’t take the initiative», saidthe Spain’s Sanchez before embarking on his crusade to the new continent.

Sanchez is aware of the power of his Group B rivals, Colombia and Argentina.

The TD have their full artillery, including star Almoez Ali, who scored one of the goals against the Guaraníes.

Possible line-ups:

Colombia: David Ospina – Stefan Medina, Yerry Mina, Davinson Sánchez, William Tesillo – Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Wilmar Barrios, Mateus Uribe – Roger Martínez, Falcao Garcí, James Rodríguez. TD: Carlos Queiroz (POR).

Qatar: Saad Al Sheeb – Pedro Miguel Correia, Bassam Al Rawi, Karim Hassan Abdel, Tarek Salman – Hasan Khalid, Assim Madibo, Boualem Khoukhi, Akram Afif – Abdulaziz Hatem, Almoez Ali. TD: Félix Sánchez (ESP).

Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)

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