A good atmosphere is evident among the players who are already training in the city of Barranquilla under the orders of Reinaldo Rueda. At the sports venue of the Colombian Football Federation, the athletes prepare the matches for the last two qualifying dates where the 'tricolor' will face Bolivia, in the capital of the Atlantic, and Venezuela, in the city of Puerto Ordaz.
The last to join the group of players who trained in the afternoon were Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Luis Sinisterra, Juan Fernando Quintero, Frank Fabra, Victor Cantillo, Camilo Vargas, Daniel Muñoz, Jhon Lucumí, Carlos Cuesta, Alfredo Morelos and Luis Diaz.
They were joined by Wilmar Barrios, James Rodriguez, Yairo Moreno, Jefferson Lerma, Luis Suarez, David Ospina, Johan Mojica, Stefan Medina, Alvaro Montero, Gustavo Cuellar, Harold Preciado and Miguel Borja.
One of the first players to report through social media was Mexico's Pachucha footballer Yairo Moreno. Alongside him, Juventus steering wheel Juan Guillermo Cuadrado and Brazil's 2014 World Cup scorer James Rodríguez appeared in a photograph. Image that would seek to deny the alleged divisions within the group of callers.
Colombia's match against Bolivia's counterpart will be next March 24 at 6:30 in the afternoon at the Metropolitano Stadium. This match is crucial for the aspirations to reach the Qatar 2022 World Cup, as the coffee growers have no margin for error and must score six points out of six possible, in addition to relying on some results to achieve the qualification.
The versions that pointed to an alleged fight between Falcao García and James Rodríguez within the Colombia national team generated a lot of stir. The altercations, according to the information released, have occurred after the defeat against Peru at the Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla on the 15th date of the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
James' annoyance after the fall, which committed the 'Tricolor' quota to the World Cup, had “side effects” in the dressing room, as the source had pointed out. However, Falcao himself was in charge of denying these confrontations, in an interview with Álex Candal for Directv Sports. “Nothing has happened, nor should we go out to clarify something; it seems to me that it is a little unfair,” said the 'Tiger' in the first place.
“We players are the first to accept the responsibility we have, but from there to inventing stories I think it's a dirty game and it's not worth it. With James we have a relationship of many years, we get along well. Not that we had fought, in football it is discussed, but there was not even that,” added the historical scorer of the Colombian national team with 35 goals.
Falcao, who currently wears the colors of Rayo Vallecano in Spain, stressed that the 'Cafetero' team still has “two very important matches” in the final stretch of the qualifiers. Currently, those led by coach Reinaldo Rueda are in the seventh box with 17 points and still have mathematical possibilities to qualify for the World Cup; however, the team must pull out the calculator, because it depends on other results.
READ ON: