The Bolivian national team, no longer able to qualify, traveled to Colombia on Tuesday to play its penultimate match for the South American qualifiers for the Qatar World Cup with the mission of “not giving anything away”.
La Verde, led by Venezuelan coach César Farías, traveled at 8:00 at night, Colombian time, from El Alto International Airport, a neighboring city of La Paz, after a morning training session at Hernando Siles Stadium.
“We are not going to give anything away” and “we are going with the conviction that we can make a great match,” Farías told the media when he left the practice.
The strategist admitted that the match against the Colombians will take place in a “difficult scenario” when referring to the Metropolitan Stadium of Barranquilla against an opponent who is “in great need” to win a victory to fight a quota for the next World Cup.
The attention to detail, pressure, balance and attack with specific resources, together with the “personality to play”, were some elements that Farías highlighted as weapons for the time of facing Colombia. Farías said that the team he will present next Thursday will be a group of players “with experience” and that, despite the fact that many belong to a new generation of footballers, they already have filming in international matches.
Bolivia will not count on its captain and historic scorer Marcelo Martins Moreno for this match, called up at the last minute, due to accumulation of yellow cards, so the captaincy will be led by midfielder Moisés Villarroel. The goalkeeper Carlos Lampe and midfielder Juan Carlos' Conejo 'Arce, two of the main figures of the Bolivian team always present in the previous calls of the Venezuelan helmsman, have not been taken into account in this call.
For this duel, Farías could present Guillermo Viscarra; Marc Enoumba, Luis Haquín, Jairo Quinteros, José Sagredo; Franz Gonzales, Moises Villarroel, Ramiro Vaca, Roberto Carlos Fernández; Jaume Cuellar and Bruno Miranda.
Bolivia ranks third to last in the tie with 15 points, over Paraguay and Venezuela. La Verde will close its participation against Brazil, already qualified several days ago, at the Hernando Siles stadium in La Paz, a duel that will also mark Farías's farewell.
Two days after the Colombia vs. Bolivia at the Metropolitano Stadium in Barranquilla, the city authorities announced the measures that will be taken to ensure the safety of attendees. Among the provisions are the ratification of the capacity for the event, the required security measures, the deployment of uniformed personnel, among others.
It was indicated that for the event there will be three safety rings, 10 entrance filters, which will facilitate access for fans. More than 400 logisticians will be providing services.
To begin, at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday (March 24), the Unified Command Post (PMU) will be installed, consisting of the delegates of the district government secretariats, the Personería, the Ombudsman's Office, the Fire Department, the Firefighters, the Red Cross and the Metropolitan Police of Barranquilla.
An hour later, at 2:30pm, the doors of the stadium will open for fans to start entering. Match-goers will not be required to wear masks. The decision was made by the mayor of the Atlantic capital, Jaime Pumarejo, who argues that the element is not necessary since the stadium is an open space.
It was emphasized that fans must have entry to the match only virtually and to enter the stadium they must present their vaccination card with at least two doses of the vaccine. In addition, biosafety protocols such as hand disinfection must be complied with.
Likewise, the Barranquilla authorities confirmed that the authorized capacity for the matches in the Metropolitan is 100% of its capacity. It should be noted that the full capacity of the Colombia National Team house is 47,000 people.
READ ON: