Colombia Scrambles for November โขAmiable After Nigeria Match Falls Through
Colombia’s national team is actively pursuing choice opponents forโ a FIFA-scheduled friendly match in โNovember, following the collapse of a planned game against Nigeria. Colombian Football Federationโค presidentโ Ramรณn Vรฉlez revealed the federation is prioritizing matches against strong African competition, โฃspecifically targeting either โIvory Coast or Egypt.
Vรฉlez emphasized the desire for a challenging opponent, stating, “Either. The most โserious, Ivory Coast or Egypt. Either of the two would be vrey good. If one of the two is โnot possible, they โwould have to turn toโฃ any rival, except cape Verde.” The November fixture serves as crucial preparation for the national team ahead of the World Cup draw on December 5th, offering a valuable opportunity for competitive match practice.
Colombia has only โคfaced Ivory coast once โpreviously, a 2-1 victory for Los Cafeteros at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on June โ18th. Matches โagainst Egypt have โbeen limited to โขtwo friendlies: a 1-1 draw on May 26, โ1990, and a scoreless tie on Juneโ 1, 2018.
Beyond โthe African options, Vรฉlez โindicated exploration of European contenders, acknowledging the difficulty of securing โmatches against top-tier teams. “With the options of Italyโ and Belgiumโค completely eliminated, โhe has explored others. apart from theโค aforementioned Portugal, there is croatia. That is not closed, it is not simple,” Vรฉlez said. The federation is working to finalize a suitable opponentโ as quickly as possible to maintain momentum in the โฃteam’s World Cup preparations.
