It was not fulfilled in 17 matches, nor in one: the failure of the Colombian team towards Qatar

Colombia didn't deserve to go to the world cup. The three-to-zero victory over Bolivia was just a cloth of warm water. As soon as he broke the streak of seven commitments without scoring, Reinaldo Rueda returned to the same thing. He repeated the decisions that were always questioned. Faced with the need to score three points against Venezuela, he opted for a conservative tactical scheme. He never understood that William Tesillo performs better as a central defender, nor did he value the versatility of Yairo Moreno. Reproachable. He ran out of World Cup ticket in his law.

Against Venezuela it was not known why the coach preferred Rafael Santos Borre over Miguel Ángel Borja. It is true, one plays for Eintracht Frankfurt and the other in the Junior in Barranquilla, but the one in the Tiburón team, good that bad, is the coffee gunner in the qualifiers. On the contrary, the former River Plate striker continues not to be baptized with a goal wearing the Tricolor. The only thing was that he generated the penalty for James Rodriguez to send the ball to the back of the net, when the first part of the commitment was close to ending.

The fault, however, was not only with the helmsman: as in the last matches, that is, those played after the Copa América — even in the same contest — against Venezuela it was difficult for the players to define. It is true, Wuílker Faríñez flew more than once, but if in the analysis it remains that there were no goals because of the rival goalkeepers, what could have been the cause of the elimination will continue to happen: a negative run without scoring with few precedents, two in reality, one from Paraguay and the other from Venezuela, the worst in the qualifiers.

A separate point deserves James Rodriguez. Nobody doubts about the magic in the booties of '10′, but their physical condition is. When he returned to the calls, after resolving the alleged friction with Reinaldo Rueda, he failed to be unbalanced. He did not appear to his teammates in the defensive lag to help the team, nor did he perform the usual between the lines that led him to the elite and on few occasions he tried shooting from the middle distance.

He only scored the penalty, and in fact he had help from the VAR who canceled Faríñez's first save by going out of the goal. The strategist noticed it, and, against La Vinotinto, he replaced him in the 62nd minute by Juan Fernando Quintero.

Applause for Lucho Díaz, who in addition to his talent gave his soul, the same for Sinisterra, who in two games as a starter showed more integrity than some of his teammates. Needless to say about Ospina: yes, he failed in the match against Peru in Barranquilla and for that goal, in fact, Colombia became dependent on others, but saved the national team from more than one defeat.

What's next now? The generational change that every selection requires. Probably by the hand of the new coach — if Rueda starts — referents such as Radamel Falcao García and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado will be said goodbye, as will the task of looking for new talents, how about Jorge Carrascal, Alfredo Morelo, Yáser Asprilla...? We'll have to try.

KEEP READING: