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There are several reasons to consider the Colombian national team hot favorites for the match against Costa Rica, this Saturday, with a berth in the semifinals of Copa América at stake. The fixture will take place at the Mansiche Stadium, in Trujillo, (north of Peru), at 7:45 pm local time. If they draw, the semifinal spot will de determined via a penalty shootout.
Colombia boasted the best campaign in the Group phase, with 7 points in 3 matches. They secured their spot in the quarterfinal with ease already in the second round of games, whilst the Costa Ricans guaranteed their presence in extra time of the breath-taking match against Chile, when they reversed the scoring with a Andy Herron goal to make it 2-1.
On paper, Colombia are in better physical condition, since they rested their key players on Monday and didn´t have to travel after meeting Peru in the same city of Trujillo. On the other hand, Costa Rica faced a marathon of flights from Tacna, where they did battle with Chile, on Wednesday.
Even so, Colombians will not take anything for granted. Midfielders Jairo Patiño and David Ferreira, alongside strikers Tressor Moreno and Sergio Herrera, who didn´t start the match against Peru, have been confirmed by coach Reinaldo Rueda. The manager stated that, despite having brought the team to carry out tests in the Copa América, he insists on trying to win their second title. There is one change in defence: Right-back Hayder Palacio will make his debut in the Copa América replacing Gonzalo Martinez.
Costa Rica refuse to be considered underdogs. Coach Jorge Luis Pinto, who was born in Colombia, made just one change to the side that clashed with the Chileans: Left-back Junior Diaz - a halftime substitute - will start playing this time around. Leading the attack is Herron, who started off facing heavy criticism by the fans and now is the greatest Costa Rican idol after his heroic goal on Wednesday.
After overcoming the pressure imposed by the Chilean fans in Tacna, Costa Rica will count on the support of the Peruvians, at the Mansiche Stadium. When the Colombians drew with Peru, they sent the hosts to Chiclayo for the quarterfinals, preventing the Trujillo faithful from seeing their national team in action for a second time in history. Therefore, they will face the wrath of the Trujillians who will take the Mansiche by storm to cheer for the red jerseys.
Colombia: Juan Carlos Henao - Hayder Palacio, Andrés González, Andrés Orozco, Gustavo Victoria - Oscar Díaz, Abel Aguilar, Jairo Patiño, David Ferreira - Tressor Moreno and Sergio Herrera. Coach: Reinaldo Rueda.
Costa Rica: Ricardo González - Alexander Castro, Luis Marín, Mauricio Wright, Junior Díaz - Douglas Sequeiro, Cristian Badilla, Walter Centeno, Steven Bryce - Alonso Solis and Andy Herrón. Coach: Jorge Luis Pinto.
Venue: Mansiche Stadium, em Trujillo (PER)
Referee: Gustavo Méndez (URU)
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